Dan Sartain follows 2012’s Ramones suffused ‘Too Tough To Live’ with an altogether more eclectic proposition in the shape of ‘Dudesblood’.
Across the album’s 10 songs Dan careers between the paranormal John Ford C&W of ‘Marfa Lights’ to UK anarcho-punk (‘Smash The Tesco’) and a truly inspired take on The Knife’s ‘Pass This On’.
‘You Don’t Know Anything At All’ and ‘You Gotta Get Mad To Get Things Done’ are classic Dan maxims offering up two sides of the same coin - sentiments softened in the later song by Misty Miller’s contribution. Elsewhere, in the darkness of the American underbelly, lurk the sordid reflections of the ‘HPV Cowboy’ before Dan finally reprises his country trails croon for ‘Rawhide Moon’ and the album’s improbable conclusion, ‘Moonlight Swim’ (originally a 1957 hit for Anthony Perkins - who played Norman Bates in ‘Psycho’ - and later for Elvis).
‘Dudesblood’ also features drums and marimba tracks by the venerable DJ Don Bonebrake, best known as an original member and drummer for punk rock band X, of which he is still an active member. Dan’s affinity for X, The Knitters and The Flesh Eaters prompted him to reach out to DJ. The result is a sweet shimmery layer not usually found on the more aggressively paranoid songs that sometimes crop up in Sartain’s catalogue.