Datsuns - Datsuns

Genre Hard Rock Garage

year: 2002 - review: From the phased vocals on "MF From Hell" to the Deep Purple-esque organ that introduces "In Love" to the omnipresent cowbells, The Datsuns provides a nearly exact replica of a generically entertaining, early-'70s hard rock album. At their best, as on the opener, "Sittin' Pretty," and the wonderfully stupid "Harmonic Generator," the Datsuns rise above their influences and produce some undeniably fun rock, but too often the album falls prey to the indulgences that sank the bands who inspired them. In particular, the second half features too many squealing guitars and vocals and not enough memorable hooks. Though their melodic sensibilities desert them by the end of the album, on their debut the Datsuns prove that they can craft vintage-sounding hard rock like no one else. Whether or not that's a good thing is debatable, but The Datsuns does feature more worthwhile songs than some of the band's inspirations managed in an entire career.