But this isn’t a joke album in any way; nor is it an indulgent jam session or wig-out. It’s a tight song-based album with the emphasis on great riffs and tunes.
But this isn’t a joke album in any way; nor is it an indulgent jam session or wig-out. It’s a tight song-based album with the emphasis on great riffs and tunes.
DØGNTANK – S/T (Brain Donor)
http://www.headheritage.co.uk/ dogntank.com
Rock.
Rock rock rock rock.
And then some more rock.
Rock might go post and metal might go nu. And then there’s grindcore, sludgecore and all the rest of it. But sometimes all you want is some honest-to-goodness, balls to the floor, rock. No unnecessary adornments or fripperies – just guitar, bass and drum. Killer riffs and over-the-top solos. If you thought they didn’t make music like that anymore you’d be nearly right. DØGNTANK’s debut album is the feller you’ve been missing.
If the name doesn’t ring a bell then it’s a power trio headed by the mighty Doggen himself. Long-time Julian Cope associate, he’s also helped out Spiritualized in the past. Released on Cope’s own Brain Donor label the album is a fast and furious blitz through the last thirty years of rock.
It’s as though all of your favourite rock acts have been brought together, bunged into a blender, and then poured over the vinyl. Deep Purple, MC5 and the Sabbath are all echoed here, but the album never sounds like a lazy pastiche. It thrashes around all over the place and there are also hints of late sixties psychedelic and garage rock (Methought I heard some Fugs – ed). You also know by a quick look at the song titles that you’re not going to get some Devandra Banhart twee-fest – Long Time Dead, Lucifer and Feel The Pain are the opening three tracks. But this isn’t a joke album in any way; nor is it an indulgent jam session or wig-out. It’s a tight song-based album with the emphasis on great riffs and tunes. And it’s an exhilarating beast – the trio of Doggen and his associates Charlie Wayman and Antronhy OH give it some fearful tonk.
Whilst the basic tracks are all drums, guitar and bass the sound is fleshed out for a couple of tracks. Cope himself adds synths and mellotron on Outpatient Blues. Job 2.6 even features a trumpet. But most of the songs follow the template laid down by Waitin’ 4 Tomorrow – primal riffs and beat, falsetto vocals and a knockout guitar solo when required.
Which goes to make album closer, Stoned Out of my Mind, all the more surprising. It’s a gentle ballad with piano and strummed acoustic guitar. It’s a melancholy end to an album that swaggers with the best of them. Finally there’s the cover to mention. Doggen adorns it looking like a cross between Gene Simmons and the Joker. Gone septic green. You can’t say you weren’t warned. Classic.
Words: Chris Dawson