Lucky for Dan Sartain nobody expects a socially polished hot rod freak. Sartain is a 24 year old, Birmingham, Alabama-bred agoraphobic who carries himself like a shoe-gazing Johnny Cash. As he explains in rapid-fire detail on “Drama Queens,” “When I’m alone, that’s because I choose to be alone.” That track opens his sophomore release Join Dan Sartain, and it’s a frantic piece of sweaty-palmed psychobilly that doesn’t give the listener enough time to determine if Sartain is accepting of, or merely justifying his lonely state. In the 14 tracks that follow he’ll burn through reasons why this distinction doesn’t matter anyway. Sartain is every bit the modern cowboy, and over the course of Join Dan Sartain he’ll riff Link Wray fuzz-toned power chords, work a full-fledged Mariachi band deep into the Southwest, and boldly deliver lightning-quick lines that reflect the Reverend Horton Heat’s burnt-out aesthetics. Hammered into these sounds are the themes that go best with modern rockabilly: loneliness, cheatin’ women, strong drink, minimum wage, and the occasional knife fight. On the rare occasion that he slows it down for some acoustic balladry, as he does on “The World Is Gonna Break Your Little Heart,” it’s only to punctuate the bleak realities of blue-collar life. If cruising the wastelands of Los Angeles or high-tailing it into the desert night are in your immediate future, consider this the soundtrack to your dubious activities. [JE]
Dan Sartain: www.indian.co.uk/dansartain
Swami Records: www.swamirecords.com