Datura 4 - Neanderthal Jam
DATURA 4 - Neanderthal Jam (Alive Records)
Review by Ian McFarlane
Originally published Rhythms magazine (Issue #313) September-October 2022
Let’s boogie! Neanderthal Jam is the fifth album from Perth-based band Datura 4. Led by seasoned singer / guitarist / songwriter Dom Mariani, there’s no guess work involved when it comes to these guys musically: full-tilt hard rock, boogie and blues in the classic forthright fashion with a liberal seasoning of heavy psych-soul. Very tasty indeed.
When it comes to Mariani himself, I wondered if he might have no little personality crisis going on musically. There’s been ’60s Garage Rock Dom (The Stems), Power Pop / Jangle Pop Dom (DM3, The Someloves), Surf Rock Dom (The Stone Fish, Majestic Kelp) and Boogie Rock Dom (Datura 4). Naturally, Datura 4 has been compared to just about every vintage hard rock / fuzz rock entity in existence – Cream, Blue Öyster Cult, Grand Funk Railroad, Blue Cheer, Groundhogs etc. with a nod to the Australian chapter of Carson, Master’s Apprentices, Chain, Billy Thorpe & The Aztecs and Perth locals Bakery. And I would throw in other American acts such as Cactus, Nitzinger, James Gang and Steppenwolf with a soulful West Coast rock vibe.
“I’ve always loved those kinds of bands,” Mariani confirms. “They were a major inspiration when I was growing up, I had a lot of the albums. It’s that primal rock sound, simple but heavy riffs, flavoured with great melodies. I’m also still connected to the Aussie Rock thing too, it’s very much still a part of the band’s sound. It was that impressionable age of 15-16 when you’re trying to find out who you are, trying to be cool. It was just what was happening musically, that blues rock, hard rock sound. I was watching GTK on the TV, seeing the bands at school socials. I remember seeing the Coloured Balls headlining the Freo Rock concert and that made a real impression on me.”
The current band line-up of Mariani (guitar, vocals), Warren Hall (drums), Stu Loasby (bass), Bob Patient (keyboards) and Joe Grech (guitar, vocals) gets a boost with the addition of blues slide master Dave Hole as a guest player on the rip-roarin’ ‘Going Back To Hoonsville’. Hole has been tearing up the blues since the late 1960s, while Patient was a long-time member of his band, so it’s not hard to appreciate the combination.
“Dave Hole is a real champion, such a great guy. I first met him when the booking agency Saturn Enterprises got my first band, Gypsy, a Monday night gig at the Sandgroper supporting the Dave Hole Band. I was fresh out of high school and it was a real eye opener. He was amazing, playing those great songs like Rory Gallagher’s ‘Bullfrog Blues’ and Eric Clapton’s ‘Motherless Children’. He had that whole unorthodox slide guitar technique of playing over the top of his fretboard and it was very exciting watching him. I’ve followed him ever since. Also, I first saw Bob in Fatty Lumpkin and later he worked on DM3 sessions. I wanted that Hammond organ sound on the albums.”
As a long-time listener to the band’s music, the major revelation for me is the development in the song writing. Not that the early albums lacked substance but initially they comprised songs written by Mariani; by the third it was Hall/Loasby/Mariani and now it’s all songs by Datura 4, a more collaborative approach.
“That’s been a natural evolution. In the early days I’d present songs I had written to the guys at rehearsals, ‘this is how I want it to go’ and away we went. We got over the first couple of albums and we realised we had more in us and it’s more the case now that I’ve got the germ of an idea, we have a jam and we all contribute. And Bob has really opened up the palette for the different songs we write now. I’m trying to broaden my songs, some bluesy, some West Coast psychedelia, hard rock; for me it’s always been about writing good songs.”
‘Open The Line’ is one of the key cuts, a superbly commercial slice of buoyant hard rock that would do any band proud. Guitarist Stevie Van Zandt aka Little Steven has been an unabashed fan of Mariani’s work for many years, and recently chose ‘Open The Line’ as “The Coolest Song in the World” on his popular radio show on SiriusXM, The Underground Garage.
“Oh yeah, Little Steven has always been a great supporter of what I do. He got The Stems over to the US to play one of his concerts a few years ago. He just likes what I do and I’ve always been grateful for his support. He’s a very funny guy. We got to catch up when he came out here with The Disciples Of Soul.”
Photo courtesy of Datura 4 promotions
Digging deeper and the likes of ‘Bad Times’, ‘Black Speakers’, ‘Worried Man’s Boogie’ and in particular the super-charged ‘Digging My Own Grave’ (whoa! those twin guitar lines) push the energy levels to overload. ‘Black Speakers’ for example features that classic Stratocaster guitar / Marshall amp combo. Yet it’s not all energy over substance; the most abiding elements tying these tunes together are the tight structures and melodic inventiveness.
There’s a great deal of diversity here too, the range and variety of tonal colours being impressive. The instrumental title track brings the mood down with an acoustic guitar motif, cruising beat, funky keyboard lines, blues harp, subtle washes of wah wah and a suitably lysergic vibe. A very cool track. The mournful ‘Hold My Life’ likewise works the acoustic side of the band to perfection.
The guys stretch out on the final track, the eight minute ‘Drive By Island’. Rather than being a superficial afterthought to fill up the record, there’s not an ounce of fat wasted on this gem. I’m calling it my favourite track, not least for the astonishingly grand melody, the shifting arrangement and the gorgeous rising harmonies but principally for the quality of the ensemble playing. It’s a Datura 4 classic of the highest order.