"John Paul Jones' production rounds the edges a little but that's not necessarily a good thing": The Datsuns back themselves into a musical cul-de-sac on Outta Sight / Outta Mind

The Datsuns relocated to the UK in 2002, looking like Led Zeppelin with ironed hair, and sounding much the same. The trousers were tight, the guitars were wielded like weapons and, with a garage sound closer to The MC5 than to Crowded House, the fact that The Datsuns are from New Zealand was easily overlooked.

Two years later a second album arrived. It was a collection of sweaty, fuzzed-up rock, this time produced by (and also with keyboards by) ex-Zep man John Paul Jones. Outta Sight/Outta Mind didn’t have the immediacy of tracks like Harmonic Generator or Motherfucker From Hell (from their eponymous debut) but it was a raucous 40 minutes filled with strident guitar breaks and Plant-esque lung bursts that adhered to all the right rock clichés without once encroaching into Darkness territory.

Blacken My Thumb was a vicious opener, and the pace didn't relent from there. Messin’ Around was pure ZZ Top with its low-slung riffs and no-nonsense drumming, Get Up! (Don’t Fight It) was cartoon punk – like I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction in a tearing hurry – and Hong Kong Fury was a future live favourite with its Who bass flurries and mantra-like chorus.

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Other albums released in June 2004

• Auf der Maur - Melissa Auf der Maur
• Contraband - Velvet Revolver
• Once - Nightwish
• Outta Sight/Outta Mind - The Datsuns
• Rewired - Mike + The Mechanics
• Asshole - Gene Simmons
• The Empire Strikes First - Bad Religion
• Sonic Nurse - Sonic Youth
• Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge - My Chemical Romance
• Dark Matter - IQ
• Disclaimer II - Seether
• Hot Fuss - The Killers
• Undermind - Phish
• Gettin' in Over My Head - Brian Wilson
• A Ghost Is Born - Wilco
• Houses of the Molé - Ministry
• Inferno - Motörhead
• Power of the Blues - Gary Moore
• Unbreakable - Scorpions
• Will to Death - John Frusciante
• The Cure - The Cure
• The Eye of Every Storm - Neurosis
• The Gorge - Dave Matthews Band
• Hollywood Potato Chip - The Vandals
• In Between Evolution - The Tragically Hip
• This Magnificent Distance - Chris Robinson
• Mojave - Concrete Blonde
• Revival - The Reverend Horton Heat
• Watch Out! - Alexisonfire
• We Are Not Alone - Breaking Benjamin
• White2 - Sunn O)))

What they said...

"The simple fact is this: how can you sit through the V8 revving of Blacken My Thumb and still want to intellectualise rock? It should make any self-conscious critic pitch forward onto the carpet, shuddering and sobbing, "Oh Jesus, oh Jesus!" The only thing your thesaurus is good for here, dweeb, is for soaking up the juice after the Thorogoodly rockin’ Messin’ Around has pummeled you into a fine, bloody mist. (Stylus)

"Antipodean hairies The Datsuns' strategy for that 'difficult second album' has been to come back as even more purified retro than they were before. Outta Sight/Outta Mind's cover imagery reeks of the 1970s; the rear cover loudly proclaims 'produced by Jean Paul Jones' - of Led Zeppelin. Layers of screaming guitars do their best to insist that the Stooges and Deep Purple never did this stuff better." (The Guardian)

"This might be ok if there was a tune to pick up on or, like The Darkness, some hint of irony. That Sure Ain't Right and You Can't Find Me have an agreeable shade of glam, but even the promisingly-titled Hong Kong Fury remains stuck to their pedestrian blueprint of third division boogie. In other words, for people awaiting that second Jet album, this should prove a welcome distraction from their crayons. For the rest of us it's a look of bemusement and a scratched head." (Yahoo!)

What you said...

Gary Claydon: One of a plethora of 'The -' bands that cropped up around the turn of the century, The Datsuns relocated to London from their native NZ in time for the release of their debut album. There was quite a buzz around them and the debut showed some promise with its raw, garage take on early 70s hard rock, with an obvious nod to the likes of The Ramones. They were also one-third of an Antipodean assault that threatened world domination but was, ultimately, doomed to fail. Jet had some moderate success but in the end barely made it off the runway, The Vines withered and died (much of it self-inflicted), and The Datsuns came blasting down the motorway slip road only to find themselves conked out and stuck on the hard shoulder a mile later.

The 'difficult' second album is a disappointment. Not exactly bad but certainly not good. The problem with being determinedly retro in outlook is, if you're not careful, you're in danger of backing yourself into a musical cul-de-sac. You have to be really good at it or start making your own imprint. The Datsuns do neither. John Paul Jones' production rounds the edges a little but that's not necessarily a good thing as some of the raw quality is lost. There is nothing here as memorable as the raucous Motherfucker From Hell on the debut. Lyrically, much of it is pretty feeble and you'd like to think it's mostly tongue-in-cheek, but there seems to be a lack of self-awareness, and much of it comes across as outdated cock-rock posturing.

In the end, The Datsuns simply petered out. The Hives were much cooler, The Darkness funnier and bands such as The Donnas and BRMC were simply better. Another to take at face value, in which case it's 40 or so minutes of uncomplicated garage rock. Bottom line, though, is - it's very aptly titled.

Greg Schwepe: If The Datsuns' Outta Sight/Outta Mind delivered on one thing, it was 40 minutes of high-energy Kiwi rock. Enough to keep me motivated and power through a mind-numbing treadmill run after the weather forced me indoors. “OK, Datsuns, work your magic here."

The 12 songs vary from fast “punky” guitar fests to stuff that kind of sounds like sped-up “sludgy” Sabbath. Lots of riffs and licks to stick with you. And I’ve said this before, why is it for me all New Zealand and Aussie bands all seem to have this great attitude of “hey, let’s all rock and have a good time” vibe about them?

Favourite tracks turned out to be Hong Kong Fury, Cherry Lane and Lucille.

If this is to be my only interaction with The Datsuns (and probably will be), then job well done. Had I bought this back in the day, I could see this one getting played over and over, enjoying the varied but consistent songs. But I could also have seen myself dutifully buying their next release, playing it a few times, then going, “Hmmm… nice group, but a little bored now… next!” 8 out of 10 on this one for me.

Chris Elliott: It's okay. It huffs and puffs for a while - doesn't offend - but I have no real desire to hear it again. Like a rawer version of The Strokes - just as referential.

Tom Coleman: Good album, not as good as the first, but still a solid listen.

Nigel Mawdsley: I've not heard much by The Datsuns. First impressions of this album is that it sounds like The Clash incorporating chunky rock riffs! Worth another listen.

Mark Veitch: Even if this had been released in the 70s it would have been as dull as dishwater.

Brian Carr: Dave Grohl helped me gain some level of understanding and appreciation for punk music, but that still doesn’t mean I like it. The punky vocals on Outta Sight/Outta Mind by The Datsuns might have led a younger me to dismiss the record straight away and I would have missed out on some fairly killer riffage - the guitar definitely doesn’t sound punk. Ultimately, it’s our second straight album that I like musically, but dislike due to the vocals.

Final score: 5.92 (26 votes cast, total score 154)

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