Tribe of Dan

Item: The Bootus Red
Author: Josh Spencer

The Bootus Red

(1998)

Reviewed by Josh Spencer

Discogs Bandcamp

Label Mister M RecordsThe Phantom Tollbooth1998

garage rock grunge indie rock

"Swamp rock" is what frontman Dan Donovan calls his brand of rough music, and that's what it sounds like...a group of 60's garage rockers who've been playing out in some forsaken marsh for 30 years, occasionally making forays into the civilized world to hear and bring back new ideas from grunge, goth, alternative, and folk. Then they throw it all in the mix, tweak the distortion, and go....

The Bootus Red seems much rawer and less focused than Shook Up Shook Up the band's 1991 debut. The Billy Idol-with-bronchitis vocals have deepened and thickened into a palatable Tom Waits huskiness. Donovan's voice isn't as strained-whiny here as on his solo albums either, which is a good thing. The hooks are traded in for more atmospheric, moody experimentations, which begs for plenty of repeated listens to soak it all in. There are meandering scrappy guitars, spirit-world blues, big Nirvana drums, howling and whispering...just all around groovy music. Freaky poetry-rich lyrics too, although the lack of a lyric sheet makes it tough to make out Donovan's thoughts.

Amid the rockier numbers are some mellow tunes more akin to Donovan's solo work. "No Bad Dog" is a laidback song with his smoothest singing yet, and a radio-ready chorus done just cool enough to ensure it'll never hit those airwaves it would rule were this a garage rock world. "Inside of Here" continues the relatively clear singing, with sleepy-quiet picking for the meditative lyrics to float over. Two spoken-word treats--"Boat Story" and a delayed track at the end--show off trippy, minimalist guitar effects and Dan's English accent (which will no doubt add to the appeal for American listeners).

The diversity of the songs and the lower vocals make The Bootus Red my favorite of Donovan's recordings so far, and it's highly recommended for people whose musical tastes inhabit the fringes of the civilized music world. Tribe of Dan is grunge for the goth, indie rock for the classic rocker, alternative for the original grungers.

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