Album Review: Datura4 – Hairy Mountain

Westerm Australia’s Datura4 is the brainchild of Dom Mariani, the former frontman of The Stems and DM3, and Greg Hitchcock, who was previously in You Am I and New Christs, the quartets line up is completed by drummer Warren Hall and bassist Stu Loasby. Datura4 have released their sophomore album, Hairy Mountain, it was released at the end of October via Alive Naturalsound Recordings and it follows on from their acclaimed debut album, Demon Blues.

Hairy Mountain is a mixture of some seriously laid back fuzz drenched psyche, trashy rock ‘n roll, primitive garage rock and dirty blues, this approach is exemplified by the title track but that’s not the end of the story. The album maintains it’s primitive roots throughout, but it also incorporates a sleazy rock ‘n roll charm, alongside an influence from the bourbon drenched rock ‘n roll that hails from the southern side of the United States. After nine tracks of heady substance influenced psyche the album ends with a mellower acoustic feel, Broken Path brings the album to an unexpectedly slow burning close. Hairy Mountain’ is ten solid tracks celebrating an unbridled joy for the kind of primitve rock ‘’n’’ roll that emerged from the 1960’s and 1970’s. This is an album that acknowledges the influences they’ve accumulated from their previous bands, but it’s also a move on from their former outfits. 

Hairy Mountain is an album that incorporates all the suspiciously hazy elements of the bands that emerged from the garages, but it combines it with some seriously accomplished rock and this makes for a fine hybrid of styles. Australia seems to encourage bands the blend garage and psyche with other influences, like the oz outfits before them, such as The Lime Spiders, The Cosmic Psychos and The Vines, Datura4 have taken the garage formula and incorporated other styles to make a unique album of psyche influenced rock.

Hairy Mountain can be ordered on all formats, including the hand mixed starburst vinyl edition, here