Datura4 - Blessed is the Boogie

  by Dave Goodwin

published: 4 / 7 / 2019

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Review

Is it third time lucky for Datura4, the blues-psych-boogie outfit from West Australia? It could well be especially if it's got anything to do with Dom Mariani, a chap whom I first encountered way back in the 1980s in the Stems. With him at the helm and a change of direction it's got a very good chance. It is not that anything that came before was not good enough. Datura4 are masters of the groove but this is a slight heavier and perhaps stranger than that. This latest offering is meatier in sound than 2016's 'Hairy Mountain' and I would say on a par for psychedelia with thire debut, 2015's 'Demon Blues', both of which were released by the lovely people at Alive Naturalsound. The delightfully named 'Blessed is the Boogie' is a little more adult but still gloriously way out in certain quarters. The band had to do without Greg Hitchcock for this one with Mariani playing the six string, and it is he and bassist Stu Loabsby who take the credits for writing the tracks here. The opening track, 'Black Dog Keep Running,' has Warren Hall's beat stamped all over it before it glides away to guitarsville. It's the title track that does it for me though. It's a non-stop psycho-boogie harmonica heaven and oozes blues rock. There are a lot of bands out there doing this kind of thing but not many do it quite as good as this, even though the psychedelic element has faded and made way for the more bluesy sound, making it a tad more down and dirty. There is some moody organ on 'Evil People Pt 2' and Mariani shows off his super skills on the guitar in the wonderful 'Not for Me'. It all has a distinctly mellow Aussie undertone and that vibe that you know is made down under just by the sound. Oh. and there's even a cover of 'Ooh Poo Pah Do' which sports some jazzy organ and a spoonful of bounce to help it on its way. I reckon we might be hearing a little more about Datura4 in the not too distant future. Surely they are destined for bigger things?

Track Listing:-

1 Black Dog Keep Running
2 Blessed Is the Boogie
3 Looper
4 Run With Lucy
5 Ooh Poo Pah Doo
6 Sounds of Gold
7 Evil People, Pt. 2
8 Not for Me
9 Cat on a Roof
10 The City of Lights

Label Links:-

https://www.facebook.com/AliveNaturals
http://www.alive-records.com/
https://twitter.com/AliveRecords
https://instagram.com/alivenaturalsoun
https://www.youtube.com/user/JIMalive1