Album Review: The DeSotos, Your Highway For Tonight

Want late-night, country-blues-rock worth sinking your teeth into? You can almost feel the hot wind coming in off the desert as this Auckland four-piece deliver a moody album that could be the soundtrack to a modern-day western.
In fact, the opening track, Hearts in One Place, is the title music to Marcus Lush's TV series North. With a strong electric guitar riff over a solid Hammond organ backing, it sets up the tone for the 14-track album nicely. There are even touches of Mr Desert Sessions himself, Josh Homme, on Can't Go Back, which is one of a couple of the tracks which harks back to the golden age of grunge ballads. Another is Fat Man's Lodge, with its bluesy flourishes crossed with Alice in Chains-style harmonies. Also worth a mention is the very pretty You, a simple love song with layers of laid-back instrumentation that float through your consciousness.
Stars: 4