Dutch band The Dirty Denims has, at last, released their promised full-length album. Called Ready, Steady, Go! it adds to the six tracks that we reviewed on RAMzine late last year. Those first six tracks gave us hard rock interlaced with punk, pop and that all-important sense of fun as if The Offspring or AC/DC, The Stranglers and Blondie were all having a raucous party. So head over to that review for those six tracks and read on for the (equally as good) additional ones.
‘Roll The Dice’ happily retains the sound of the Bon era with added piano and inherent originality that prevents any ‘clone’ comments. It’s an out and out rocker with a simple but effective riff, skin-tight bass and drum backing rounded out with Joan Jett style vocals and a tasty guitar solo to complete the set. ‘Messin’ Around’ does just that with an almost (but not quite) recognisable melody and drags you into its infectious chorus and imaginative guitar solo with some neat Shadowy twanging and tremolo use. ‘Creatures Of The Night’ is a straight-ahead rock song that lays down the riff as chords and then cleverly picks those same chords to add depth and weight. Add a cowbell, a nice solo, the early AC/DC influence topped with latter-day DC and it all just works.
‘Band Not A Brand’ deserves success just on the strength of the title alone, as it tells of the essential fabric of a band as opposed to the disparate entity some become and even worse, the farce of manufactured bands. The Denims wrap the tale in a brilliant punk-rock update…the Ramones inevitably spring to mind with the key-driven middle section adding in a bit of The Stranglers….great fun. ‘Beautiful (My Darling)’ is not really a ballad but it will still make you reach for your Zippo and hold it high before pulling it down…just listen to the words as I’m pretty sure the G string mentioned isn’t on her guitar! The song is actually a solid, enjoyable and well thought out mid-paced rocker with all elements present and correct.
As I said when summing up the prequel to this album, they are a refreshing take on the familiar with plenty of individuality to prevent the replica label being attached. Fun is an important part of making, playing and listening to music and these guys and girls are obviously having a blast… give it a try and you will too.
