Reviewed by James Attlee

  Dan Donovan is an unrestructured rocker and a genuine nutcase.   His band are called Tribe Of Dan and their fans are called Mooseketeers — they wear hats with moose antlers on them and are liable to give vent to a cry they call a "Moose Call" at the slightest provocation.  Sounds like fun? This is a rough and ready record­ing, moose-rock in the  raw, with Moosketeers doing their thing in the background while the three-strong Tribe give it their best.  But its not all fun and games — Dan's got something to say, and he says it with passion.  "How loud the silent scream/how cruel the baby dies/our hands all-stained in blood/1 can hear the Father cry, yes He does, He cries", shouts Dan over the crashing beat of his three piece Tribe on "Only Love" — or on "Touch", "You Fallen Angel, your time is running out, you're gonna get kicked out, of that there is no doubt."   The music is hot sweaty and unpretentious, heavy without the boring twiddly bits, and there's always plenty of "whoo whoos" and "yeah yeah yeahs" to stop it getting precious. Dan Donovan sounds sometimes the way Mick Jagger might if he woke up one morning and found they'd pulled the plug on his bank account; most of the time though he just sounds like Dan Donovan. The last words (and the last words on the tape) have to be his: "Thank you, Tribe of Dan, Thank you, moo-moo-la-la-la-la-la-la, yeah-yeah-yeah, ha-ha-ha-ha..."

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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