The set’s biggest surprise is its final cut, “Evil People, Pt. 1.” Though under six minutes it feels like a jam track with serpentine organ, throbbing bass, and martial tom-toms overlaid with distorted guitars in a three-chord vamp that creates a hypnotic, head-wagging pulse as Mariani sings with malevolence at the heart of the mix. […]
UNRATED MAGAZINE HERE
The “West Coast Highway” in the album’s title refers to the geographical section of Australia (where the album was recorded), not California. Still, there’s no denying the “cosmic” psychedelic threads running through everything. There are no weighty concepts at work, but lots of heavy playing on a batch of songs that go down easy. Datura4 […]
A blues-based pavement-shredder that flexes significant muscle while nodding to forefathers like ZZ Top and John Lee Hooker and even Stevie Wonder.– GHETTOBLASTER
West Coast Highway Cosmic has everything I love If you were lucky enough to grow up in the 60s and 70s, you know that the music coming out at that time had a certain vibe. We’re not talking about the bubble-gum pop that was prevalent on the AM stations of the day. This is that blues […]
You might recognize Dom Mariani as the frontman of Aussie garage rockers The Stems, or 90s power-pop group DM3. Either way, he’s got form on the songwriting front, which translates beautifully into his new record with Datura4. This latest single – a filthy yet brightly melodic swirl of woozy 12-bar blues and stompy psychedelia – […]
RTRFM HERE
My listening album of choice this week has been the newie by Australian rockers Datura4. West Coast Highway Cosmic is a celebration of travel, rendered in old school boogie blues rock. The kind of album that sounds best when played loud (…) There are those that say rock is long dead. On the evidence here […]
BLUES IN TOWN REVIEW HERE