Thursday, June 04, 2020

Dangereens - Tough Luck

Well here we've got another great release from Alien Snatch Records. And you know I wouldn't have expected anything less! Dangereens hail from Montreal and have kind of a different sound for Alien Snatch. Hell, they've got kind of a different sound, period! And that's what I'm especially digging about this group. You can't quite put Dangereens into any obvious category. At first listen, you think maybe they're into the sleazy glam rock thing. But over the course of their debut album Tough Luck, they touch on everything from rhythm & blues to '70s jam rock to boogie woogie to rockabilly. When was the last time I compared a band to Mungo Jerry? "Streets of Doom" makes me think of Eternally Yours era Saints, but not quite. "Hearse Driving Boogie" channels Dave Edmunds via The Replacements. "Twelve Below Zero" sounds a little like a lost deep cut from The Kinks. You could slot "Love Jive" into any oldies station's nightly '70s block and fool almost everyone into thinking it was genuine AM gold. "(Bye Bye) Little Uptown Girl" is a an R & B rocker as righteous and rousing as anything the J. Geils Band ever did. I'm not always a fan of piano, sax, and trumpets in rock and roll. But holy cow, does this band ever pull it off! Hugo Chartrand has got legit star presence on vocals, and Felix Brisson on lead guitar can play like a motherfucker! Dangereens describe themselves as "elegantly decadent rock and roll". That could not be more spot-on! The musicianship and production on this record are about as professional as it gets. But first and foremost, Chartrand writes appealing songs that are well-suited to the effortless cool he exudes as a performer. If you favor more straight-forward glam rock, I recommend the band's new single "Lucky In Love". But I think the full album really gives you the best feel for what makes Dangereens a special band. Has anyone noticed that three of the last four Alien Snatch releases were by Canadian bands? Daniel knows what's up.



-L.R.

https://aliensnatch.bandcamp.com/album/dangereens-tough-luck
https://dangereens.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/dangereens
http://www.aliensnatch.de/
https://www.facebook.com/ALIEN.SNATCH.RECORDS

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