AWmusic

Released February 18, 2008

If you’ve never heard of The D’Urbervilles I suggest you go now to iTunes and buy a copy of We Are The Hunters. Go right now, I can wait. You think I’m kidding, I’m not. D’Urbervilles really is one of Canada’s best kept secrets but like all secrets they won’t be a secret much longer. This group, based in Guelph, is making some of the most outstanding and original music out there.

The D’Urbervilles are not to be confused with a roots/country band by the same name. This D’Urbervilles is certainly not roots/country at all. Not even close. With vocals that are a cross between Jim Morrison and Ian Curtis with a bit of Paul Banks (Interpol) thrown in for good measure, jazzy beats, rocking guitars, smart lyrics and funky bass lines, this CD will get your blood up and dancing along with the rest of you. May I suggest listening to this in an empty room because otherwise I suspect to will do damage to yourself while bouncing around.

The CD starts off bravely with a rollicking instrumental, “Knock Out The Fat”, that reminded me of Tool crossed with the theme song from a ’60s spy show. This is followed by “We Are The Hunters”, an energetic song that starts off with a funky bass line and lively drumming that propels the song into a jazzy, dynamic guitar. This piece sets you on edge and the lyrical content does nothing to calm the spirit, in fact it does quite the opposite – “We are hunters, it’s time for killing”. A really good song to get you moving first thing in the morning. “Dragnet”, the third song, is most like early Doors. It starts off nicely dark and brooding, much like “Riders On The Storm”, and then transitions into something a little livelier but just as threatening.

The whole CD from beginning to end is just a joy to listen to. The songs are intelligent and musically challenging. The jazzy textures and funky bass lines keep your interest while the drum beat keeps your toes tapping, head bobbing and hips shaking. The songs are dense, there is a lot going on but they are also lyrically sparse, leaving lots of space for the instruments to tell the story and move the songs along. Although The D’Urbervilles get their sound mostly from Echo and the Bunnymen, there are also similarities to Joy Division, Interpol, and The Doors. Not a bad thing, in my opinion. This is one CD that will end up getting a lot of play around my house.

The D’Urbervilles have toured with Mogwai, You Say Party! We Say Die!, Handsome Furs and Land of Talk. According to their MySpace page, they will be releasing new material sometime in 2009. You can bet I will be looking forward it. The D’Urbervilles are: Tim Bruton, guitars/synth; John O’Regan, vocals/guitar/synth; Kyle Donnelly, bass, and Greg Santilly, drums. “We Are The Hunters” is released on Indie label, Out Of This Spark, and is available on iTunes. Buy it, I beg of you, if only to purge your ears from the influx of Idol “winners”, Nickelback clones and just generally anything that you may hear on mainstream radio.

Track Listing:

1.Knock Out The Fat
2.We Are The Hunters
3.Dragnet
4.Hot Tips
5.This Is The Life
6.The Receiver
7.Spin The Bottle
8.National Flowers
9.Belladonna, Deadly Nightshade

Buy “We Are The Hunters” on iTunes.

The D’Urbervilles on MySpace

Tunes to listen to:

The D’Urbervilles – Dragnet
The D’Urbervilles – This Is The Life
The D’Urbervilles – Belladonna, Deadly Nightshade