Seems the media around this tiny blue marble has been taken-in by the latest album “Hairy Mountain” from Australian psych-rockers Datura4. Here’s some of the love they’ve been spreadin’….
ALL MUSIC (music site)
Datura 4 – ‘Hairy Mountain’
AllMusic Review by James Christopher Monger
The 2016 sophomore studio long-player from the bluesy Aussie psych-rockers, Hairy Mountain delivers another muscular blast of lovingly retooled classic rock that bristles with electric, down-under eccentricity. Similar in tone to the Sword, Thin Lizzy, Cream, Electric Wizard, and Blue Öyster Cult-loving High Country that, like Datura4’s debut, arrived the year prior, Hairy Mountain ultimately transcends its reliance on genre tropes by delivering those familiar melodic turns and road trip-ready backbeats with supreme gusto. Stand-out cuts include the lush “Fools Gold Rush,” the swaggering, modern-day boogie rock anthem “Confide in Me,” the propulsive, four-on-the-floor barnburner “Mary Caroll Park,” and the nostalgia-laden closer “Broken Path,” the latter of which skillfully threads the needle between Grand Funk’s “I’m Your Captain” and Jane’s Addiction’s “Jane Says.”
http://www.allmusic.com/album/hairy-mountain-mw0002980945
PURE VOLUME (music site)
PREMIERE: Datura4 — “Trolls”
Australia has a pretty killer rock scene, and we’re not just talking about AC/DC, Tame Impala and Wolfmother. Western Australia’s Datura4 are unveiling their second album later this week, and we’ve got their vintage ’70s psych rocker “Trolls” to premiere today. The song is pretty killer, and would have been at home on the Dazed and Confused soundtrack. So, what we’re saying is you better jam on this crank the volume to 11.
“Living in the age of the internet troll,” Dom Marinai says of the song and video. “Trolls who hide behind computer screens. Trolls who deflect their own emotions creating havoc, being disruptive, often for no real reason at all. It was one of the first songs I brought along for the album. I’d only ever written one other tune in a three-four time signature – it really suited the idea for a song titled ‘Trolls’ and it was one of the easiest songs to record. We really got into a groove with it and captured something menacing and special if those two things can co-exist.”
Datura4’s Hairy Mountain will be available on limited hand-mixed starburst vinyl, CD and digital formats October 28th via Alive Naturalsound Records. Buy it here.
http://www.purevolume.com/news/PREMIERE-Datura4-Trolls
HUFFINGTON POST (politics and culture site)
“Hairy Mountain” album premiere.
Blue Notes: Chats with Chick Corea and Larry Coryell, Plus Pink Martini, John McLaughlin, Steve Forbert, Michael Colton and Datura4 Exclusives
By Mike Ragogna
DATURA4’S HAIRY MOUNTAIN ALBUM EXCLUSIVE
According to Datura4’s frontman Dom Mariani…
“A good friend recently asked where I got the idea for Hairy Mountain. He said the title conjured up something salacious or lewd in his imagination to which I explained that was far from the intention, but more so a homage to our hairy Oz rock forefathers. I said if people want to read into it and come up with their own imagery then that was cool too, but it all started out as some kind of mutant FREE riff set to a Simon Kirke 1/8 groove that I had going on in my head. I played it for a while, searching for a melody and phrasing that would work until the very first line that came out of my mouth was, ‘Making my way down a Hairy Mountain…Hairy Mountain? Ok! I think I know where I’m going with this.
“Drawing on imagery of having grown up and lived on the West Australian coast, things started to flow, taking a left turn and mixing in visions of an alternate universe governed by peace pipe smoking Chiefs, flying spacemen and surfers waiting for the perfect set to break, to convey an optimistic feeling of a better place. I presented it to the band at the next rehearsal and they were like – ‘this is cool!’ What’s the title!? It took a while to knock it into shape, but once we had the groove it became undeniably evident it would be both the title and the centerpiece of our new album. Demon Blues, our first album, opened a door to the song writing possibilities of Datura4 and you can hear it in focus on Hairy Mountain.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/blue-notes-chats-with-chick-corea-and-larry-coryell_us_580192a2e4b06f314afeb43d
ROLLING STONE AUSTRALIA – “Fool’s Gold Rush” video premiere Sep. 29
Watch Datura4’s Trippy New ‘Fools Gold Rush’ Video
BY JONNY NAIL
Western Australian rock ‘n’ roll purists, Datura4, have just let loose the latest single from their forthcoming new album, Hairy Mountain.
The track, “Fools Gold Rush”, builds in true ’70s psych-rock form, swirling from guitar-led turmoil to shoegaze clearings of reflection. The clip aptly follows that lead, overlapping shadowed performance shots with grainy VHS dream sequences, colour burst from the blurred, memory-thinning snaps.
Hairy Mountain is the follow-up to last year’s acclaimed debut, Demon Blues, and set for release October 28th, with limited edition “hand-mixed starburst” vinyl available for pre-order now.
http://rollingstoneaus.com/music/post/watch-datura4s-trippy-new-fools-gold-rush-video/4881
UBER ROCK (UK music site)
Datura 4 – ‘Hairy Mountain’ (Alive Naturalsound Records)
Written by Jonathan Kardasz
Datura 4Depending on your demographic Australian rock music is probably gonna mean AC/DC, INXS or Midnight Oil; or Jet and Tracer (or maybe even Crowded House), but dig a little deeper and there’s also a rich seam of trippy psychedelic bands filling the world with fuzzy hefty yet catchy rock that’s not quite metal and not hard rock but somewhere in between.
Somewhere that’s more fun than just sticking to the obvious tropes of those genres and turning them in to tired cliches. Datura 4 (Dom Mariani, vocals and guitar, Greg Hitchcock, vocals and guitar, Warren Hall, drums and Stu Loasby, bass) are one such band and ‘Hairy Mountain’ is their second full length recording out on Alive Naturalsound Records.
Album opener ‘Fools Gold Rush’ is a great understated opening – a slippery chorus blossoming from a bed of fuzzy guitars and with a nice wiggly guitar lead throughout, plenty of soloing too. It’s an instant indication of where this album’s at, laid back; groovesome; a tight band of musicians playing it slack.
The band are in thrall to the classic sounds of the Seventies and yet bring a fresh take with a nice crisp production and songs that worm their way in to your psyche. Sure there’s a coupla choruses that stick after the first play, but give it a dozen plays and the craftsmanship in the songs really reveals itself, unfolding as you find the delights buried within – musically & lyrically.
Title track ‘Hairy Mountain’ sums up the Seventies ambience beautifully, the author “Making my way down a hairy mountain…with a tail wind behind my bike, I’m looking for a chief to smoke the peace pipe” and just reeks of patchouli oil, bell bottoms and ‘Easy Rider’. Although it’s mostly a laid back effort there’s a gratifying change of pace with a classic head banging coda. Mind you it’s not all the sunny vibe of the post-Woodstock Seventies as ‘Something to Hide’ hints at the Watergate Seventies with its paranoid lyrics: a fuzzy cut with a trippy finale, it’s marching beat undelaying an almost continuous solo.
It’s not all laid back though, ‘Mary Caroll Park’ is a banger: a driving beat; beautiful slide guitar sounding like a slightly more polite Rose Tattoo (not an insult, the cut is just a touch lighter than the Tatt’s signature sound but still redolent of their vibe) and a guaranteed floor filler. There are some twists lyrically too, it’s not all joss sticks and hanging out: ‘Greedy World’ is a swaggering Stonesy cut that (possibly) references the Ditty Digger himself – “Got a mansion by the sea…Got a monkey for a chauffeur…Got my own jet airliner to fly me round the world…Got my own newspaper…Got my very own Page Three girl…Got my own snake oil company I’m worth a trillion dollars but it’s not enough for me”. Surely those words could only be describing good ole Rupert Murdoch?
‘Trolls’ too steps away from the sunshine lyrics with menacing sci-fi guitar and a lyric slating, well, the trolls that try and bring us all down. It’s a hidden gem, a slow burning ear worm and proves again how the album bears repeated listening for full satisfaction. ‘Broken Path’ is woozy lazy psyche pop and a welcome palate cleanser amongst the riffs, the paranoia and the heavier lyrics; a little beauty of tune that would (deservedly) go massive if placed in the right high profile telly show or film.
Confide in Me’ breaks through on the first play – it’s a natural catchy single, throw some sequins and glitter on it and you’d have a hit glam single that could stand shoulder to shoulder (on wobbly stack heels natch) alongside Slade or The Sweet. ‘Too Much (or Not Enough)’ is the closest the band get to a misfire, a catchy tune but not as fulfilling as the rest of the offerings on the disc. On the other hand, ‘Uphill Climb’ is another tune with a slow fuse, revealing its delights about the fourth time around. A beautifully synched riff n chorus with some of the best wiggy guitar workouts on the record. And some fabulous shaker too.
It’s easy to stick to what you know, to buy the latest release from an established band; to buy the latest pick from the usual magazines’ recommendations or to grab something hyped by the radio stations, but take a chance, take a step away from the masses and buy this album. You won’t be disappointed.
http://www.uberrock.co.uk/cd-reviews/31-november-cd/18767-datura-4-hairy-mountain-alive-naturalsound-records.html
BLURT MAGAZINE (national music magazine)
DATURA4 – Hairy Mountain
Label: Alive Naturalsound
Release Date: October 28, 2016
The Upshot: The Wizards of Oz strike again.
BY MICHAEL TOLAND
When you’re on to a good thing, why waste time? So goes the attitude of Datura4, the latest band from Australian guitar rock genius Dom Mariani and his partner-in-crime Greg Hitchcock, as they quickly follow up debut Demon Blues, which came out only last year. (Or maybe they remember the days when bands released an album a year, instead of waiting for three year marketing campaigns to come to an end.)
To suggest Hairy Mountain might be Demon Blues part 2 sounds like dismissal, but it’s not inaccurate – album numero dos doesn’t futz with the formula established by the first one. Mariani, Hitchcock and friends grok that bluesy hard rock arrangements + power pop melodies = guitar pop bliss. The opening cut “Fools Gold Rush” sets the tone with its singalong chorus and grungy six-strings, and that tone rarely falters for the rest of the ten tunes. “Greedy World,” “Mary Carroll Park” and the title track simply rock, and do it while trading macho vibes for a celebration of what guitars and tunes can do together.
DOWNLOAD: “Fools Gold Rush,” “Greedy World,” “Mary Carroll Park”
http://blurtonline.com/review/datura4-hairy-mountain/
WORDS ABOUT MUSIC (music site)
Album review: Datura4/Hairy Mountain
Dom Mariani and Greg Hitchcock‘s Datura 4 have released an album that says everything about the joy of electric guitar. Checking out the trippy cover art (I want what Joshua Marc Levy is having…) and taking in the title – Hairy Mountain – my son said “This just has to be good…”
It’s better than good, it’s the best thing I have heard all year (to be honest it is a tie for 2016 with Bill Hunt‘s acoustic and startling Upwey). Hairy Mountain serves up riff after delicious riff over ten killer tracks. As a fan of rock and roll guitar, I found myself happily saturated with huge tones, big hearted rock and roll and more than a few nods to the great original psychotic reactors of Detroit, London and Sydney. Rock with great pop sensibility – it is an unbeatable and irresistible one-two punch.
Hairy Mountain is all about hooks, hubris and heaviosity. Not surprising considering the pedigree here: Mariani’s Stems and Hitchcock’s Bamboos were two of Perth’s most loved garage rock bands; what is it about Perth?
‘Fools Gold Rush’ opens with a Black Sabbath grind – the tone I expected from the last Sabbath album (but was given Foo Fighters instead) – before lifting off into a Byrd‘s jangle: pure pop for now people. ‘Trolls’ is blues-rock supreme – these songs all have a sour worldview, delivered with a curdled sneer that fights to be heard above the guitars – perfect! “Trolls will find you, they will wind you up…”
‘Uphill Climb” is Stooges-brutal with that momentum that only spiky drugs and/or rock and roll can give you. Same with “Mary Caroll Park” with its Rose Tattoo slide-guitar scraping the paint off my ears.
Title track “Hairy Mountain” rolls on big Led Zep wheels through a tale of perfect surf breaks and peace-pipes – a chink of (not quite) hippie sunlight in a doomy album. Hitchcock’s ‘Greedy World’ is back spitting at the stupid world, over that mutant breed of pub rock that only Australians seem truly capable of.datura4_hairy-mountain
After the raw and red-eyed ride, Hairy Mountain winds up/winds down with Mariani’s melancholically acoustic country-rock plea ‘Broken Path’. It is perfectly placed and just what we hairy mountaineers need to come down after our time spent on the slopes.
Lysergic, heavy, booglarised, wildly colonial, Hairy Mountain is – like all great rock and roll – perfectly imperfect and vice versa, and all the more thrilling for it. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, the 80s revival is over there; if you do then do yourself a Molly favour and grab some Hairy Mountain.
https://wordsaboutmusic.wordpress.com/2016/11/11/album-review-datura4hairy-mountain/
RHYTHMS MAGAZINE (Australian bi-monthly roots music magazine)
Perth Psych Rockers Datura4 Launch “Hairy Mountain” in WA
Fremantle outfit Datura4 are set to launch eagerly awaited second album ‘Hairy Mountain’ in a massive night at Mojo’s, Saturday 3 December.
The follow-up to acclaimed 2015 debut ‘Demon Blues’, ‘Hairy Mountain’ was released worldwide on Alive NaturalSound Records on 28 October.
Datura4 is Australian garage rock legends Dom Mariani (the Stems) and Greg Hitchcock (the Bamboos) with long-time Mariani collaborator and Rippled Souls bassist Stu Loasby, and ex-Drones drummer Warren Hall.
‘Hairy Mountain’ builds on Datura4’s ‘guitars to infinity’ approach and celebrates an unbridled joy for rock’n’roll. Road-tested on sellout crowds throughout 2016, ‘Hairy Mountain’ blends hard rock riffage, psych-boogie blues and culminates in the title track’s lysergic tale of perfect surf breaks and peace-pipe smoking chiefs.
It promises to be a huge night at the iconic North Fremantle venue. Joining Datura4 for the blast-off are some of Perth’s brightest new rock acts including Marlinspike, Cal Kramer from the Southern River Band and Burning Angels.
On Sale Info
Saturday 3rd December 2016
Mojo’s Bar, Fremantle, WA
https://rhythms.com.au/perth-psych-rockers-datura4-launch-hairy-mountain-wa/
RTR-FM RADIO (Western Australian radio station)
Thanks RTR-FM RADIO in Western Australian for the recent spin of Datura4’s “Hairy Mountain”!
https://rtrfm.com.au/features/
THE VINYL DISTRICT (music site)
Datura4, Hairy Mountain (Alive! Naturalsound)
This Western Australian four-piece specializes in psych-blues-boogie, and they’ve been cited as extending the musical mores of their countrymen Buffalo, The Aztecs, and Coloured Balls; featuring the dual guitars of Dom Mariani (of the Stems and DM3) and Greg Hitchcock (who was briefly in the New Christs), this sophomore effort shines brightest in direct proportion to its pedal-induced amp burn, of which there is a surplus. The songs are more than just vessels for flights of controlled distortion though, and the rhythm section hits hard throughout. B+
http://www.thevinyldistrict.com/storefront/2016/12/graded-on-a-curve-new-in-stores-december-2016/
THE LITTLE LIGHTHOUSE (Cleveland OH podcast show)
Thanks The Little Lighthouse in Cleveland for the recent spin of spin of Datura4’s new track “Too Much (Or Not Enough)”!
http://www.littlelighthouse.net/?p=1471
AMNPLIFY (Australian Musician Network’s music site)
Perth Psych Rockers DATURA4 Release ‘Hairy Mountain’
By Dave Bruce
DATURA4 follow up their acclaimed 2015 debut album Demon Blues with the equally rockin’ and lysergic long-player Hairy Mountain.
DATURA4 are proud to announce the release of album number two, Hairy Mountain, available in store and online from October 28 through the Alive NaturalSound Records label.
Hairy Mountain builds on DATURA4’s ‘guitars to infinity’ approach and classic song-writing skills and features ten solid tracks which celebrate an unbridled joy for rock’n’roll with a nod to the spiritual presence of their hairy Oz rock forefathers.
Opening track ‘Fool’s Gold Rush’ kicks things off on a haze of heavy fuzz and dreamy vocal harmonies, and then leads straight into the menacing ‘Trolls’ which sets the album on a course of hard rock riffage and psych-boogie blues. Songwriters Mariani and Hitchcock make comment on their fear of the world turning to shit and other sobering themes, alongside the utopian optimism of the title track – with its monolithic groove and lysergic tale of perfect surf breaks and peace-pipe smoking chiefs.
Recorded during the summer of 2016 at Electric City in North Fremantle and Real2Reel Studios in WA’s south-west, Hairy Mountain is the culmination of a lifetime of musical archaeology and the ongoing search for the never ending riff.
Originating in 2009 out of the port city of Fremantle, Western Australia, potentially one of the most isolated cities in the world, the DATURA4 seed was born from the nucleus of two of Perth’s most celebrated and now legendary garage rockers The Stems (Dom Mariani) and The Bamboos (Greg Hitchcock).
Mariani and Hitchcock have come full circle to form the psychedelic rock’n’roll four-piece DATURA4. It’s a ballsy return to the dirty hard rock and blues, full-tilt boogie and heavy psychedelia they grew up with their own unique and original spin on things. Together with long-time Mariani collaborator and Rippled Souls bassist Stu Loasby and former drummer for The Drones Warren Hall, they came together to produce an impressive debut album ‘Demon Blues’ and to define the DATURA4 sound. Released in mid-July 2015 Demon Blues was enthusiastically received by fans and the music press alike.
http://amnplify.com.au/forums/topic/perth-psych-rockers-datura4-release-hairy-mountain/
WINNIPEG FREE PRESS (daily)
Datura4 “Hairy Mountain” (Alive Naturalsound Records)
4 STARS!
When you talk about Australian hard rock music, it’s hard to ignore the influence of Michigan native Deniz Tek. When he moved to Oz in the 1970s he took the sound of Detroit/Ann Arbor’s Stooges, Sonic’s Rendezvous Band and the MC5 to many willing ears — and young Fremantle native Dom Mariani (DM3, Stoneage Hearts) soaked it all in.
Western Australia’s the Datura4 is led by the prolific guitarist/songwriter, and this sophomore album has the dependable Motor City vibe, with a little extra voodoo to make it unique. Mariani and Greg Hitchcock trade guitar licks back and forth over some chugging rhythms and it’s their tandem attack that is most memorable on these songs. By leaving each other enough space to be uncomplicated and direct — and completely avoiding overt six-string grandstanding — the effect is gripping.
Opening track Fools Gold Rush has a memorable chorus hook that connects a pop sheen to the grinding undertow. The psychedelic boogie of Mary Caroll Park back-to-back with the fuzzy, Stooges-esque Uphill Climb are solid-gold winners that lead into the epic title track.
At close to 60 years old, Mariani is showing no sign of changing his tune and has yet to reach the apex of his personal musical mountain.
DOWNLOAD: Hairy Mountain, Trolls, Uphill Climb
— Jeff Monk
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/arts-and-life/entertainment/music/399817921.html
NEVER MIND THE HYPE ( Dutch internet radio site)
Thanks Never Mind The Hype for the recent spin of Datura4’s new song “Fools Gold Rush”
https://nmth.nl/nmth-x-pinguin-radio-nieuwe-muziek-35/
MILWAUKEE JOURNAL-SENTINEL (Milwaukee, WI daily)
Datura4, “Hairy Mountain” (Alive Naturalsound).
West Australian rock ‘n’ roll band that doesn’t have much time for or interest in any noise after, say, 1975 sticks close to what it knows — electric guitars, lysergic pacing, hard-man vocals — on its second long-player.
http://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/music/2016/10/27/new-album-releases-oct-28/92825240/
AXS.com (music site)
Datura4 proves good rock is not extinct on ‘Hairy Mountain’
By: Gary Schwind
If you heard Datura4’s last album Demon Blues, you heard an album that was heavy with psychedelic sounds as well as some groovy guitar that sounded like it was transported direct from the 70s. Well, the band has a new album entitled Hairy Mountain, and you’re in for more of the same goodness as on the last album.
The album opens with the fuzzy guitar intro of “Fools Gold Rush” that sounds a lot like the psychedelic sounds of the late 60s. The melody of this song rocks, but it also makes you want to sink into a beanbag chair with your favorite beverage while you soak up the sounds.
If you want some of the muscle that was the signature of the 70s, then “Mary Carroll Park” is the song for you. This song not only has the loud and groovy guitar, but also a rhythm that will have you pumping your fist. This is a song that begs to be blared from the windows of a 1970 Dodge Charger on an open highway. The only problem with that is that especially during the instrumental break you might want to break out your air guitar while you drive.
While the band definitely rocks, it also believes in music with a message. “Greedy World” is a good example. The subject of this song is someone who has a penthouse suite and a mansion by the sea, among many other things like an ivory back scratcher. Not surprisingly, the subject of the song proudly declares that he is worth a trillion dollars and “that’s not enough for me.” All of this commentary is provided in a bluesy melody that would probably make fellow Australians AC/DC proud.
Good rock and roll albums have become a bit of a rarity, but Datura4 shows that good rock and roll albums have not become extinct. If you’re a fan of psychedelic rock (“Trolls” will definitely fill your need for psychedelia) and groove rock of the 70s, you will love this album. Just do yourself one favor and crank the volume when you listen to it. You’ll be glad you did. Hairy Mountain is available from Alive Naturalsound Records on October 28.
http://www.axs.com/uk/datura4-proves-good-rock-is-not-extinct-on-hairy-mountain-108989
GLACIALLY MUSICAL (music site)
LP Review: “Hairy Mountain” by Datura4
Recently, a music industry friend of mine and I were talking about the state of music in the world.
Many times, I’ve railed against paint by numbers music, because it’s boring and repetitive, but my buddy said that sometimes repetitive is good.
A great example of good repetitiveness is 12 Bar Blues.
With just three chords and about 12 lines of lyrics, a guitarist and singer of questionable abilities can write at least 17,982 songs. On stage Billy Gibbons made reference to that when he said, same three guys, same three chords.
But, of course there’s far more to a quality 12 bar blues tune than just the I-III-IV progression and the turn around chords. It’s the story, the emotion, the feeling, and the kick ass guitar solos!
What many people now call Arena Rock used to be considered blues based rock.
Led Zeppelin were the masters of taking old blues standards and whipping them up into something larger than life.
(Yes I know and I’m not getting into it.)
ZZ Top also were a big fan of the blues.
Looking back though, most bands of that era didn’t play blues based rock, or blues based anything.
Which is why some folks have a hard time getting into legitimate blues, because it’s so much smaller. Datura4 though stand at the middle of the bridge between Rock and the Blues.
Though, their tasty, tasty guitar solos are rock, they’re based in the blues, especially the slide guitar licks….wow. The verses are straight twelve bar blues, with some Kiss-like hooks thrown in for good measure.
Don’t look for a charismatic frontman putting it all out there, because he’s not here. The vocals are a more droning version of Cream and that suits the tunes perfectly.
Datura4 has learned the first lesson of blues rock, if you’ve got a killer guitar tone, you’ve already taken the high ground. Building off some impeccable (and traditional) chord progressions, Datura4 is able take on all comers with a scorcher of a record.
Release: 10/28/16
Genre: Blues Rock
Label: Alive Natural Sound
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Formats: CD/LP/Digital
Pre-order the Limited Edition Vinyl
http://glaciallymusical.blogspot.com/2016/10/lp-review-hairy-mountain-by-datura4.html
MAXIMUM VOLUME MUSIC (music site)
REVIEW: DATURA4 – HAIRY MOUNTAIN (2016)
October 27, 2016 Andy Thorley
And the award for the best album title of the year goes to……
In the summer of last year, some Mp3s arrived at MV Towers from the Alive Naturalsound stable. Like when you were a kid you always knew that the red and white Atlantic spine was the mark of a great record, then reviewing as we do now, you always think “oh this might be cool” when it comes from certain labels.
This was from a band called Datura4, who had emerged from Aussie pop heroes DM3 and featured members of You Am I (a band who we’d loved back at the turn of the century) Datura4 dealt in classic rock and the album was a triumph. MV waxed lyrical on the subject and as well as calling “Demon Blues” amongst other things “spectacular”, we said it was “kind of a cross between chilled out Psych rock, blues and fuzzy 1960s garage rock n roll.
Now, perhaps in the spirit of those classic rock forefathers, just over 12 months later comes “Hairy Mountain” and, it too is a triumph.
One that sort of belongs to the same hinterland as the debut, certainly the fuzzy bliss of opener “Fools Gold Rush” and the knowing 60s harmonies of the verse are a suggestion that this is another labour of love. That said “….Mountain” does move things into a more modern arena this time around.
“Trolls” is a seething damnation of keyboard warriors and social media, while “Uphill Climb” pulses and throbs over a confident beat and fine chorus.
“Mary Carroll Park” is a rather gleeful surprise too. Equal parts bluesy fun and barroom shuffle, it also features a guitar line worthy of that Aussie band that Axl Rose now fronts. There is joyfulness in its tale of lost youth too.
The title track, would – if it came from the LA Desert – be called a “stoner” song (this is probably more literal than usual given that at one-point singer Dom Mariani, once of The Stems, is looking for a “chief to smoke the peace pipe” with) whatever, it is a big, thick fuzzy piece of gloriousness.
The blues infused “Greedy World” is another highlight too, and you’d love to think that the subject of its ire was the evils of Rupert Murdoch (“I’ve got my own newspaper, and my very own page three girl”) but then it is probably the only song in history to use the words “monkey chauffeur” so it is won either way.
Musically, at least, the air of innocence that Datura4 manage is something to behold. “Confide In Me” is timeless rock n roll, “Too Much (Or Not Enough)” is a wonderfully catchy affair, while “Something To Hide” just about restrains itself from being a full on screeching thing, preferring to add some hand-claps instead, as the ear for melody takes a firm grip.
Things end as they began, with a song straight out of the late 1960s, early 1970s. But unlike the opener, “Broken Path” does it with a countrified acoustic strum and is looking up at the stars.
Another superb record from Datura4, and one which poses the very real question, of what the hell happens on a Hairy Mountain. It might be best not to ask. Listen to this instead. It’s probably safer.
Rating 8.5/10
http://www.maximumvolumemusic.com/review-datura4-hairy-mountain-2016/
720 ABC PERTH
The Week In Music Again With David P. Weber
27/10/2016 , 11:35 PM by David P. Weber
Datura4Datura4’s new album Hairy Mountain is a generous second helping of monster fuzz rock.
The agenda’s set from the kick-off, ‘Fools Gold Rush’ sending an ominous message atop a wailing guitar line.
While track two, ‘Trolls’ could just be the very first song devoted to insidious internet cowards.
Over a doomily heavy, if not metallic Sabbath riff, Dom Mariani lays out warranted character analysis..
“Hiding behind your screen/with words that are obscene,
Adrift in cyberspace/far from the human race,
Where do you get your hate/Don’t even know your name”
The road has played a key role in many of the greatest rock anthems, since way back in Chuck Berry’s halcyon days, and nearly every Datura4 song is tailored for being behind the wheel.
It’s appropriate that they currently have in their show an expansive take on ‘Radar Love’.
The slow burn of ‘Uphill Climb’ spreads into ‘Mary Carroll Park’, and never did a tale of Gosnells sound so fine, particularly when it can double for ‘Train Kept A Rollin’’.
And that’s appropriate when you remember Datura4 have not one but two God-given guitarists who alternatively cut across, play in harmony, or bed the other’s work, whether it’s Dom Mariani’s flow of notes or Greg Hitchcock’s soaring slide.
‘Hairy Mountain’ is the template for live show exploration, ‘Greedy World’ is a hilarious moral tale, ‘Confide In Me’ is cut from the same rhythmic cloth as 1969 Rolling Stones, and listeners can have fun wondering who ‘Too Much (Or Not Enough)’ might be about.
The acoustic ‘Broken Path’ is a real wonder, a sunny tune with a reflective message.
Between them, Dom Mariani, Greg Hitchcock, Stu Loasby and Warren Hall have been in about 200 bands.
As anyone who’s seen this Freo combo can attest, their mastery over the loose but tight rock form is sure and enviable.
Hairy Mountain is the perfect companion to last year’s Demon Blues, ESPECIALLY if you’re the kind of person who digs great psych-rock album artwork.
http://blogs.abc.net.au/wa/2016/10/the-week-in-music-again-with-david-p-weber.html
100 PER CENT ROCK MAGAZINE (music site)
“Fool’s Gold Rush” featured video on homepage
http://magazine.100percentrock.com/
GET READY TO ROCK (UK music site)
Album review: DATURA4 – Hairy Mountain
How far is it from the west coast of Australia to the west coast of the USA ? Turns out that, musically, it’s about a five minute trip in a space-buggy powered by stardust and riff-diesel. Fremantle’s boogie-psych rockers, Datura4, have followed up last year’s excellent debut album, Demon Blues, with a very worthy offering in “Hairy Mountain”.
In a changing world of bad news – Rick Parfitt’s retirement and a Phil Collins comeback tour (the world needed neither), it’s good to know we can rely on Datura4 not to fix something which ain’t broke. To be honest, I was holding my breath for this second release as “Demon Blues” was so damn fine but “the 4” call poppycock and piffle on that “difficult second album syndrome”. For the unfamiliar, think about the support band on a Blackberry Smoke or Chris Robinson Brotherhood tour that really turns your head and you have the cut of Datura4’s jib – unpretentious, psychotropic in parts, moody and groovy throughout.
From the get-go, opener “Fools Gold Rush” combines a mesmeric meat and potatoes riff with silver-toned, California-in-the-60s vocals – a statement of real intent. “Confide in Me” is a tasty little tip-of-the-hat to twelve bar simplicity that wouldn’t have been out of place on a circa-1970 Quo album whilst “Uphill Climb” is cool and grubby before meandering off to a hazy coda.
“Mary Carroll Park” channels a Georgia Satellites-like romp and slide and “Greedy World” has a groove tighter than a fish’s vagina.
The title track, “Hairy Mountain”, has Datura4 at their hirsute best with the rousing, rockin’ finish lighting up the song after the obligatory quiet middle bit – formulaic…maybe, but effective – yep, in spades.
With a fairly unique blend of ganja-grooves and big, retro-vocals, Datura4 have duxed it again with “Hairy Mountain” – they may be from beyond the Black Stump, but this album is ripper. Fire up the mull and tell me I’m wrong. ****
Review by Mark “Mad Dog” Shaw
http://getreadytorock.me.uk/blog/2016/10/album-review-datura4-hairy-mountain/
RATBOY ‘69 (music site)
Datura4 – Hairy Mountain, released on Alive-Naturalsound.
Last year, Datura4, from Fremantle, Western Australia, brought together Dom Mariani (frontman of legendary Australian garage band The Stems and Power Pop favourites DM3) and Greg Hitchcock (You Am I, The Kryptonics, The Monarchs) along with Drummer Warren Hall (ex-Drones) and bassist Stu Loasby for a astonishing debut full length intitled “Demon Blues” that was released on Alive-Naturalsound.
Almost one year later and with another beautiful psychedelic cover art, done by Joshua Marc Levy/Asheville Art Family, Alive-Naturalsound is releasing “Hairy Mountain”, the sophomore effort of the band.
Their previous record, was great but this one is a real masterpiece. And this is no wonder since this band knows how to write brilliant and ultra catchy songs. You hear them once and they get stuck in your head for days.
This record is filled with fat and heavy 70s guitars riffs, tremolo and wha-wha maestria, tight and groovy rhythm section and -most important- great songs with plenty of hooks and sing-a-long choruses. But it is not about revival or nostalgia of a past era. On the contrary, it is absolutely fresh and lively. It is a real heavy pop record in the truest and most honest sense of the word. A record you gotta LOVE. Favorite tracks “Mary Carroll Park”,
“Confide in me” and “Fools Gold Rush”.
LIMITED EDITION OF 150 ON AMAZING HAND MIXED 180 GRAM VINYL! EACH ONE SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT. NOTE:CD HAS TWO BONUS TRACKS
Purchase it here: http://www.bompstore.com/datura4-hairy-mountain-amazing-hand-mixed-180-gram-starburst-vinyl/
http://ratb0y69.blogspot.com/2016/10/datura4-hairy-mountain-released-on.html
100 PER CENT ROCK MAGAZINE (music site)
Datura4’s second album Hairy Mountain drops 28 October
Fremantle psych-rock outfit Datura4 are set to launch eagerly awaited second album ‘Hairy Mountain’ in a massive night at Fremantle’s Mojos, on Saturday 3 December.
The follow-up to acclaimed 2015 debut Demon Blues, Hairy Mountain is released worldwide on Alive NaturalSound Records on 28 October.
Datura4 is the latest venture for Australian garage rock legends Dom Mariani (the Stems) and Greg Hitchcock (the Bamboos). Formed in 2009 after the two got together for a long overdue jam, Datura4 also boasts long-time Mariani collaborator and Rippled Souls bassist Stu Loasby, and ex-Drones drummer Warren Hall.
Their sound is a ballsy return to the dirty hard rock and blues, full-tilt boogie and heavy psychedelia that Mariani and Hitchcock grew up with, not to mention a master-class in the old school craft of songwriting.
Hairy Mountain builds on Datura4’s ‘guitars to infinity’ approach and celebrates an unbridled joy for rock’n’roll. Road-tested on sellout crowds throughout 2016, Hairy Mountain blends hard rock riffage, psych-boogie blues and culminates in the title track’s lysergic tale of perfect surf breaks and peace-pipe smoking chiefs.
Joining Datura4 at Mojos for the blast-off are some of Perth’s brightest new rock acts including Marlinspike, Southern River Band and Burning Angels.
First single Fools Gold Rush
Praise for Datura4’s first album ‘Demon Blues’:
“Rocks so hard that if you are blasting it out of your car windows, you won’t even care if someone in a neighbouring car catches you headbanging…” examiner.com US
“It’ll grab you like a Torana driver’s handshake in the days before power steering.” i-94bar
“A defining boogie, a heavy footstomp of swagger” Rolling Stone Australia
“The quartet dives into a mess of psychedelic blues, filled to the gills with fuzzed up guitars and sturdy songwriting 4 stars” Weekend Australian
“Ball-busting Oz proto heavy rock…heartfelt psychedelicised blues-rock for the denim-clad delinquent in us all” Shindig Magazine UK
http://magazine.100percentrock.com/news/featured/201610/204770
I-94 BAR (Australian music site)
[5/5 stars!] Hairy Mountain – Datura4 (Alive Natural Sounds)
Written by The Barman
A debut as strong as “Demon Blues” was always going to be hard to top, but but Perth’s hard rock combo extraordinaire Datura4 has scaled that mountain seemingly without trouble.
There’s a deeper psychedelic vein running through “Hairy Mountain” than its predecessor and the songs are just a touch stronger. Dom Mariani and Greg Hitchcock have solidified what was probably a fun idea involving teenage bandmates reuniting into a serious guitar partnership with some scorching sonic explorations. And the gun rhythm section of Warren Hall (drums) and Stu Loasby sounds in command and totally at home.
Parts of “Demon Blues” were written before the band even stepped into a rehearsal room and even though there’s only one co-write here (Mariani/Hall/Loasby with the surging slide-rocker ”Mary Carroll Park”), the record feels like more of a collective effort.
Lead track “Fools Gold Rush” opens with menacing fuzz and a dirty lead guitar line before emerging into the light in all its psychedelic glory. It’s one of a trio of strong Dom songs that set “Hairy Mountain” off on the right foot. “Uphill Climb” is another straight-up and righteous acid rocker while the lumbering “Trolls” mixes waves of delayed guitars with a squally undertow.
“Hairy Mountain” sounds like it could have walked right off the Masters’ “A Toast To Panama Red”, plonked its arse down in your front room and lit up a big fat one. Greg Hitchcock’s solo writing contributions, the kiss-off to materialism “Greedy World” and and the druggy allusion, “Too Much (Or Not Enough)”, are every bit as strong as anything else.
Greg “Sleepy” Lawite’s slide guitar lives on in the Carson-like “Something To Hide” but Dom’s pop smarts are never far from the surface anywhere on “Hairy Mountain”. “Confide In Me” is the real boogie joker in the pack.
There are 10 songs (this album goes out as an LP as well as a CD) and the final track, “Broken Path”, is the biggest contrast, a largely acoustic and winsome track of aching beauty with guitars that stretch out over the horizon. Somebody find a major movie soundtrack to synch this onto, now.
The loving nods to the past are obvious and don’t need detailed explanation but the touches of the “now” are just as important. This stuff is gold. Score a copy and tell me I’m wrong.
http://www.i94bar.com/albums/hairy-mountain-datura4-alive-natural-sounds
50 THIRD AND 3RD (music site)
Video of the Day – Fools Gold Rush by DATURA4
[text from press release]
http://www.50thirdand3rd.com/video-day-fools-gold-rush-datura4/
PURE GRAIN AUDIO (Toronto-based music site)
DATURA4 Releasing New Album ‘Hairy Mountain’ on October 28, 2016; Video and Details Revealed
http://puregrainaudio.com/news/datura4-releasing-new-album-hairy-mountain-on-october-28-2016-video-and-details-revealed
THE PSYCHEDELICATESSEN (psych music site)
DATURA4 – HAIRY MOUNTAIN (Alive Natural Sound LP, CD)
New from Alive Natural Sound and fresh from the “Down Underground” comes the second album from West Australia’s Datura4. With 10 solid tracks of lager guided melodies and balls out Rock ‘n’ Roll they have come to party like its 1969, evoking the spirit of bad-ass biker bar boogie bands with the swagger of Blue Cheer, The James Gang, The Allman Brothers and their Southern brethren. Following the critically acclaimed debut LP Demon Blues, Datura4 have fine-tuned their heads-down, no nonsense, timeless boogie and by adding a stronger element of Psych Blues to a natural flair for melody, their new album, Hairy Mountain, shows that this band are the real deal.
An album that is really going to appeal to lovers of classic Blues Rock, Hairy Mountain takes most of its cues from the post psychedelic/pre Metal early 70s where souped up, full tilt boogie was king. Chock full of loud guitars, this is the culmination of a lifetime of musical archaeology and the ongoing search for the never ending riff. There are some really fantastic tracks here………….the opener ‘Fools Gold Rush’ and the headrush of ‘Uphill Climb’ mix squalling guitars and a big choruses with a psychedelic sensibility while ‘Broken Path’ has a wonderful 70’s mellow USA West Coast vibe complete with some sublime bottleneck guitar playing. Datura4 are a boogie monster, a bar band on steroids on tracks such as ‘Greedy World’, ‘Confide In Me’, ‘Too Much (Or Not Enough)’ and ‘Something To Hide’ where they breathe new life into the genre which struggled for credibility after the peak years of the early 70s. Like label mates Radio Moscow and other new bands such as Blackberry Smoke and Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Datura4 are mining that same rich seam of 70s Blues Rock while still staying relevant to today. A really cool record…….check it out People and remember…………………….don’t forget to boogie.
Due for release on 28th October on Alive Natural Sound Records with psychedelic cover art by Joshua Marc Levy/Asheville Art Family, Hairy Mountain will be available on starburst vinyl and CD which you can pre-order via the label website here http://www.alive-records.com/.
https://theepsychedelicatessen.blogspot.co.uk/2016/09/datura4-hairy-mountain-alive-natural.html
