Dr Chan: Nasty Rock’n’Roll Rhythms

Title: Squier

Label: Stolen Body

A second album from Dr Chan. Uh-oh. But no, let’s pretend we don’t know and see what happens. 

Based upon classic nasty rock’n’roll rhythms this French garage rock outfit has already appeared on this worthy website via the album, Southside Suicide (SS). That album did the job, it joined all of the rock dots and was…fine. This second release on Stolen Body, spanning 11 tracks, is better. It has a coherence that SS did not, offering songs that drip nicely from a great height. Like a spilt bottle of syrup that glomps from the table onto the floor, this album moves easily, methodically and without any effort at all. The energy is there, the rock chops are in order and there is a welcome sense of freedom and liberty in how they approach each song. You have to say that the album sounds a whole lot more ‘together’ with melodic strands that provide an extra dimension to the album.

But, steady on, let’s not get too excited about this new release. Like that last album, there is still nothing innovative, different or ground-breaking here. What you get with this new title is a solid, rock album but the approach and presentation has been honed and perfected.

Mastering for this album is admirable. Yes, there is a measure of slight compression evident here but that issue is not present in any great quantities and is principally utilised, if anything, to sharpen up the guitars and vocals, adding extra impetus and edge to the rock attack. All in all, it won’t affect the listening experience. 

Squier from Dr Chan will be available on a limited-edition frosted clear vinyl release plus a standard black vinyl edition, CD as well as download.

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