Artist: D-A-D
Album: Scare Yourself
Year: 2005
There’re maybe not so many of you who really know this band, but they are quite big here in Denmark (and in some other countries…) I don’t want to tell so much about them, just a little bit…
The band is:
Jesper Binzer – Vocals and guitar
Jacob “Cobber” Binzer – Leadguitar
Laust Sonne – Drums
Stig Pedersen alias Stigge Nasty – Bas
This album is the follow-up on their last, criticized and very soft album; Soft Dogs. They had some problems with recording this album, because of the producer and stuff like that. So they had been on the bottom, awhile between their two last albums. This is the first D-A-D album that is produced by D-A-D themselves.
Anyway I told you that I didn’t want to tell so much about them, to the case….
Track by track:
Lawrence of Suburbia:
This is a great song! Its dirty rock ‘n’ roll! I know that the band themselves also like this song and I don’t blame them, its rock ‘n‘roll… a great opener!
It begins with a little riff and then the rest of the band joins, in a very rock ‘n’ rolled sound.
A Good Day (To Give It Up):
This is faster, more energetic, track than the last. It reminds me of “Rock ‘n’ Rock Radar” of Riskin’ It All (1992)
“Now I’m going too fast for conditions
Get outta my lane; I’m going too fast to change!”
Scare Yourself:
This is the first single of the album. A staccato riff opens the song and continues in all the verses, then there’s a quiet bridge and then a wild chorus, where Jesper SCREAMS the lyrics. This is the most “insane” track on the album; Jesper sounds like a psycho…
No Hero:
This is a much “happier” song than ‘Scare Yourself.’ Sounds like some punk. My opinion it deserves more than I write here, because it’s a pretty good song. But I don’t have much to say about it.
“I rent this place I call home
Ya, I got no car, cuz I got no gas for the tank
The cost of living is high
I kiss my savings goodbye”
Hey Now:
There’s a lot of clean guitar on this track, it’s a very calm song with a very distorted solo. It’s probably one of the weakest songs on the album.
Camping In Scandinavia:
This track reminds me of “Risken’ It All,” from the same titled album (1992). It’s a nice hard rock song. Just as you think that the song is over and they start slowing down, they speed up again…
“We camping in Scandinavia
And we don’t mind
Yeah, we camping in Scandinavia
Where the sun don’t shine”
Unexplained:
This song starts out with some drumming and then some hard, palm-muted, riffs. Then a quiet verse and a wild chorus. If you have bought the DVD edition of this CD (explain at the end of the review!) You will know that the “working” title on this song is: “Tis tis tis,” which, on english means: “Pee pee pee.” Anyway, it’s a very cool track!
Little Addict:
A quiet, but still relatively fast, track. A good song, cool text.
“And when the world outside is slowing
You stop yourself from growing
-So won’t you tell me what you find?
Little addict
Too close to the bone
You’re perfect
You’re not stoned”
Dirty Fairytale:
Maybe a little unimportant track, but not a bad song. A short song, that only last 2.45. If it wasn’t for Jesper singing: “Mr. Hyde, Mr. Hyde,” with his harsh, shrill voice you almost wouldn’t notice the track. But a nice song although.
“Mr. Hyde, Mr. Hyde. My head is under my arm now
It’s just my animal side; don’t really mean you no harm, no!”
All right:
This song starts out with a riff that I mean that I have heard another place, maybe in a Manfred Man song….!? I don’t really remember. An OK track.
Last chance to change:
It’s a little hard not to like the chorus in this song: “Yeeeeaaaaahhhh, I lost the last chance to change.” Also a short track that only, almost, reach three minutes. It’s the very last track, so it’s last chance to change, if you don’t like it….
DVD Edition:
If you buy the DVD Edition you, hopefully, get a DVD with the CD.
The DVD contains:
The making of Scare Yourself: Dirty Fairytale
And as it says on the cover: “…+bonus video and live ***”
Dirty Fairytale (The making of…) is a little documentary about the recording of Scare Yourself, you hear about the troubles with the producer and get an insight in the band recording the tracks. A very entertaining movie.
The bonus video is the music video of “Scare Yourself” (the track) and the live *** is “A good day (To give it up)” live in Tivoli, Denmark.
All in all:
It seems like D-A-D have found some of their old sound again, after the soft, Soft Dogs, from 2002. This album reminds me sometimes of Riskin’ It All from 1992.
The album is a nice mixture of rock ‘n’ roll, some hard rock and with a twist of punk, I think. If you like the sound of D-A-D albums like: Helpyourselfish and Riskin’ It All, I don’t think you will be disappointed…
Like Stig says on the DVD: “You have to have the band playing and then run in and start writing the lyrics. Our last album got made on the desk, it’s so cold!
It got made on the desk…..like my son! –Laust Sonne
