D-A-D
Dic Nii Lan Daft Erd Ark
2011

By Shane Pinnegar

Those cheeky Danish scamps D-A-D are back with a cryptic album title referring to their original name Disneyland After Dark, which was famously the subject of legal action from Mickey Mouse’s home way back in the Eighties when these guys first came to global attention.

2008’s “Monster Philosophy” saw the band venturing into some dark and brooding territory to mixed results – this reviewer felt they strayed too far from the sound they had made their own, losing touch with the bright melodies and catchy tunes upon which they had forged their name.

D-A-D 2011 sounds like the engine has been given a complete re-tune, and they’re back with all the chrome shining and the motor purring like a tiger.

Openers ‘A New Age Moving In’ and the anthemic ‘I Want What She’s Got’ are a stomping start to the record, showcasing everything we love about D-A-D, before ‘The End’ shows that it isn’t all retro – this one could have sat comfortably on the more reflective “Soft Dogs” album from 2002 and features a hard rocking bluesey guitar motif.

‘Fast On Wheels’ and ‘Breaking Them Heart By Heart’ are another two mellower songs which harken back to the “Soft Dogs” sessions – it’s songs like these which show the band’s love for the irresistible melodies and singable choruses of Cheap Trick, and the clever lyrics for which they have become reknowned.

Through ‘We All Fall Down’, ‘Wild Things In The Woods’ D-A-D prove time and again that they remain a vital force in modern hard rock – albeit a tragically underrated one.

With this album we get what we were hoping for all long – a classic D-A-D hard rocking sound, tempered with elements from their best latterday album – the aforementioned “Soft Dogs”. Gone are most of the darker sounds from “Monster Philosophy” and its predecessor “Scare Yourself” – the lyrics remain brooding at times, but sonically “Dic Nii…” is all bright chords, blues solos, singalong choruses, and it’s great stuff.