By DJ Astrocreep
Having covered and enjoyed a couple of previous releases from psych-punk Dez Dare, I was looking forward to hearing it when the promo first dropped into the ÜR inbox. Having shown a good mix of surf punk fused with psychedelic space rock – think the bastard offspring of The Beach Boys and Hawkwind – I was confident I would have a good idea of what was about to fall into my ear holes as I put on the first listen…
I was not disappointed. The production values, as per the previous release Ulysses Trash last year, do sound very akin to early Hawkwind, with that heady ’60s style space rock and all the distortion that came with such recordings in that classic era fitting seamlessly together once more. ‘Perseus War’ musically follows the same trends while still having some punk spirit in the lyrics. Take, for example, the album opener, ‘Bozo’, which features the line, “be kind, bozo” as a passive-aggressive look at social media culture and the speed with which people can judge or comment then fall behind the ‘be kind’ moniker to try to avoid any impact of their decisions.
While the obvious space tropes can still be found, as you would expect if you are either a fan of the artist already or of space rock in general, they are neither overdone nor so in your face as to be detrimental to the album as a whole. The production is precisely done for the sound and effect he wanted to create and there is just something so hypnotic about the way the fuzzy bass distorts through everything else, just like the above-mentioned Hawkwind have done with such passion for so many years, whilst still holding on to the underlying lyrical approach that embodies a lot of what endeared the punk movement to so many people.
What it comes down to, in the end, is that this album is another great slice of fun. There are still the pokes at some of modern culture that – quite frankly – deserve to be ridiculed and changes made, which just echoes the punk spirit that seems to so clearly live in Dez Dare’s veins.
Whether you are into space rock, punk or just quite accessible rock, there is something here for a lot of people, without being too overbearing for anyone not particularly into one or more of those parts. ‘Perseus War’ goes to show that Dez should have an even bigger audience than he has already garnished himself as he has, once more, absolutely nailed his target with aplomb and created a genuinely enjoyable musical experience.
- ‘Perseus War‘ is out now.
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