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Dusted Reviews
Artist: Davila 666 Album: Tan Bajo Label: In the Red Review date: May. 4, 2011 |
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When Davila 666’s debut album hit the streets, almost three years ago now, it felt like a vital addition to the great garage rock revival of the late-aughts. They had the advantage of sneaking in just before the wave broke and unleashed a deluge of lo-fi garage-pop ’n punk unrivaled by any movement prior or to come. And while attempting to execute a well-established form of "American" music in another language inevitably sets up a novelty barrier, Davila easily overcame it on the strength of the songs alone. They weren’t tinkering with the formula too much -- but there wasn’t much need, or demand for that, given the source material. OK, so the fact that it was delivered in a Spanish language certainly didn’t hurt.
Three years is a lifetime for a band in this day and age, especially one working in Davila’s crowded field. Bands ascend and evaporate back into the ether in far less time. And the ones that don’t seem to have a keen sense of this, exhibiting a productivity worthy of a Ford factory circa-1913. Can anyone actually possess the number of Oh Sees or Ty Segall releases in that time frame? Regardless of the quality, there are still only so many hours in the day. Same goes for In The Red, a great label with a relentless release schedule. Worthy though they may be, no one can afford to buy every record they put out. That is why I’m telling you that this should be one of the records that makes the cut.
Davila 666 doesn’t aspire to any radical overhaul of the form it’s working in. Its members wear their influences bold and proud. Original Detroit, Northwestern, and New York garage bands figure equally in the blueprint, resulting in a robust hook-fest that plays like a mixtape of the greatest rock ’n roll songs ’65-’78. The Stooges, The Sonics, The Ramones, The Stones -- the big names still hold sway, but the six-strong Davila wrecking crew take it and own it, cranking out effortless cool and monster melodies that stick.
Things would be so much easier if every band took the time to pay this kind of attention to their craft (it is a craft, like it or not). When the results are of this magnitude, they can, and should take however long they want to make a record.
By Jon Treneff
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