The Datsuns - Headstunts [album]

Cooking Vinyl Ltd

November 6, 2008, 08:48 PM

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Deaths Nuts, Ass Dent Hut, Stashed Nut… some more anagrams of The Datsuns that were no doubt considered for the title of their latest release Headstunts. Lead singer, Dolf de Borst explained by saying "We got a new member of the band on drums, Ben Cole, so it was like making our first record again, with new influences and new abilities... Taking those ideas, and then flipping them around, just like you do with an anagram. So I suppose there is some kind of clumsy poetry there."

Headstunts starts off healthy and hard from the moment you push play with Human Error, which was also released as a 7" vinyl in September. The rock and roll feel is apparent from the first howl and you can imagine this song absolutely tearing up live. Unfortunately, the first of many guitar solos is nothing special, no longer than necessary (and yes, that is a bad thing!) and quite unnoticeable.

Following that, Hey! Paranoid People! (What's in your head?), brings in a great hook from guitarist Phil Buscke and is catchy while managing to not be annoying.
Your Bones is more punk pop than anything else. Hard drums, snarling guitar and sod off lyrics somehow manage to take on a more commercial feel than I'm used to from these boys.

Ready, Set, Go! is more like – sit down, crack a beer and wait while we fill the album a little. The only redeeming fact about this song is the noticeable guitar solo – but that may just be due to the lack of decent song to take away from it.

I start to feel a little better after my Ready, Set, Go! induced nap, when Yeah, Yeah Just Another Mistake rolls in with distorted guitar and soft oohh's from de Borst. This feels more old school Datsuns than anything else so far, which you just know will sound better when not in the comfort of a studio.

Eye of the Needle stands out immediately for being slower than the others, building rather than attacking. This has a very cool, retro feel to it – making me want to go buy some wayfarers and start smoking indoors again. With the song nearly breaking the 6-minute mark, apparent homage to the grassroots rock and roll of lengthy solos and dramatic building sounds, it easily takes the title of best track on the album.

So Long has me wondering if there was a set formula The Datsuns used while recording this album, as I'm starting to develop a little déjà vu, and the only words I can come up with to describe this mess begin with 'un-'…uninspired, unoriginal…

The keys and female backing vocals make the next track, Cruel Cruel Fate more than it could have possibly been, and improves it to a catchy, sing-along number. If they produced more songs like this one, and marketed the album as pure pop – I think we'd have a winner (wait, can pure pop be a winner?).

And after a mostly promising first half, the next 3 songs, Highschool Hoodlums, Cry Crybaby and Pity Pity Please disappear into chaos consisting of meaningless shouting, unimaginative struggling punk guitar and standard drumming. To sum this section up, and to quote my dad here, I'm not angry I'm just disappointed.

Last but definitely not least, Headstunts comes to a lengthy end with Somebody Better, leaving a 7minute memory of intermittent high-pitched guitar solos and repeated (and repeated) lyrics, reminding me of the jam sessions some great bands tend to do mid-concert – only boring.

The average track on the album is less than 3 minutes long. I doubt this album took them very long to write and even less to record.

The phrase 'too little, too late' comes to mind when reminiscing about Headstunts. I feel that this album really needed to be blindingly good for it to bring the Datsuns back to their 2003 "future of rock" status.

I imagine as a band begins their fourth album, something should have clicked, if it hasn't already, and the sound should be more together and less self-conscious. Even they have admitted Headstunts is more pop than anything else they have done, so if you were hoping for an album reminiscent of the impressive self-titled debut - you're sadly out of luck.

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