Sedated
Independent
You faintly suspect that The Date’s ambition is to be the band playing in some dive in the background of an old grindhouse biker movie that would eventually descend in a bar fight which they would gleefully score. From the murderous lovers on the run set to a Stonesy early ’70s riff on opener Let Me Drive, Sedated consistently marries messy, good time rock’n’roll to joyously dark sentiment.
Scarify (key line ‘Know what I like / it’s a girl with a knife’) would almost be pretty if it weren’t so sinister and Kiss And Tell, in amongst its ‘Hell Yeah’ chorus warns against self-harm. In the less complicated corner are the scuzzily catchy I Don’t Mind (probably the album’s peak) and the grinning ode to band-related alcoholism, One For My Baby.
Not being an especially diverse record, it perhaps runs out of steam towards the end – those wanting ballads, or impressive vocal range are advised to look elsewhere. But if you want a sinewy chunk of party music, or just need a soundtrack to your next bar fight, The Date will happily oblige.
CHARLIE LEWIS
