Dakar Rally - Assorted tracks

Whatever happened to old fashioned demo tapes? It’s all about Myspace these days. No more handprinted labels. No more photocopied cassette covers. No more taping over random tapes and sticking sellotape over the holes so you could actually do that.

Dakar Rally, presumably they mean the Paris – Dakar one, a gruesome and sweaty beast of a car race that only the most determined in only the best cars manage to complete. Somehow I was expecting this band to sound laborious, energetic and driven (sic).

Dagenham

This sounds dreadfully London-y. The voice (I may get shot for saying that) reminds me of thingie from Campaq Velocet. Only that this chap is almost rapping. Rapping over fiddly guitars and a surprisingly speedy bass line that is. And he rhymes ‘American kids’ with ‘Fucking weekend’, which is an adventure previously deemed impossible.

Confidence Trick

What is it with bands wanting to do this Libertines thing? Is this purely coincidental? Are there hoards of young people in similar conditions? Oh, hang on a cotton picking minute! This track is also laced with Futureheads style ‘who-ho-oh’ backing vocals. Interesting. Like early 21st century indie fusion cuisine. Not sure why the music press hasn’t picked up on this concept yet. They usually love this sort of thing.

What Can I Do

Oh no! The intro is just a fingernail’s breadth away from slap bass. I can almost smell it. This sounds like The Streets on guitars and maybe (more) space cakes. I envisage a crowd in skingtight jeans at the Dublin Castle really enjoying this, it’s very now, darling. It even has a quiet bit in the middle, where aforementioned hipsters could rise to the occasion, make this song their very own and reach for the lighters whilst clutching their Primark-ed out girlfriends in the little skirts.
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Verdict:

Not reinventing the wheel, but trying to take the wheel apart and reassemble it in an octagon shape. Which wouldn’t be good for car racing, but makes for decent songs.

www.myspace.com/dakarrally