Formed in December 2000, they come from an area outside Detroit, Michigan. And since Kiss told me that Detroit is a Rock city, the Dirty Americans well then had to rock. And they sure do.
They got the attention of Roadrunner Records a few months after forming but were kept in limbo hell by the label. They recorded demos and albums worth of material for the label, but the label kept holding them back.
After a few false starts to release an album, “Strange Generation” was finally released in Europe, Japan and Australia in March 2004. The band was also then released from their contract with Roadrunner Records, and the debut album was later released in the US by Liquor & Poker Music. I had to google the name of the label to see if David Coverdale was running it, since Whitesnake had a song called “Liquor and Poker” written for the “Slip Of The Tongue” album and even the tour in support of the album was called the “Liquor and Poker”.
I purchased the album because of its retro psychedelic looking cover and the fact that Roadrunner was the label behind it.
Like many bands during this era, it was lucrative to have your songs on video games.
The song “Car Crash” is featured on the soundtrack for the PlayStation 2 video game Gran Turismo 4 and “Burn You Down” is featured in the main menus to ATV Offroad Fury 3 and Gretzky NHL 2005.
From an Australian point of view, they had the same sounds that Wolfmother and Jet had. That throwback to the 70’s retro sound. Good old classic rock.
No Rest
It explodes like a fuzzed out Sabbath crashing into the Rolling Stones.
Car Crash
It’s like The Doors meets Molly Hatchett.
Can love be like a car crash?
I suppose you need to be in both to really know.
Strange Generation
For some reason, “Generation Swine” keeps coming into my headspace when I see this title. But it’s more similar to early Cheap Trick than later Crue.
Burn You Down
The combination of Cream like riffs in the Verses with a Blue Oyster Cult “Don’t Fear The Reaper” style Chorus is great to listen to.
Time In Space
The start reminds me of AC/DC. Musically that is.
Give It Up
A blues rocker ballad, more in sync with Grand Funk and Lynyrd Skynyrd than anything else.
Deadman
My favourite song.
It’s got this Tea Party sound and feel, which is basically like Led Zeppelin’s “Physical Graffiti” sound.
And some sections remind me of Bush in the vocal delivery.
If you need to press play on a song from this album, then this is it.
Deep End
It could have appeared on Led Zep III and fitted perfectly with the style of that album.
Way To Go
The Chorus is addictive on this.
We Were Young
It’s got a Collective Soul feel, like “The World We Knew”.
The whole album just rocks and grooves.
I didn’t skip a song when I got it and listening to it again, today, I still didn’t skip a song.
But.
Afterwards it was hard to describe or sing or hum any of their melodies.
But.
When I pressed play again, for the second time, it was all familiar again, only to disappear a few hours later after I finished listening to it.
And I’m thinking that’s why they didn’t break on through to larger things, like other retro sounding bands. They didn’t have that “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” or “Joker And The Thief/Woman” tune.
Plus it was very hard to find any information on em back then.
Checking Spotify out right now, it does have two EP’s in “Jet Black Holy Water” and “Detroit S.O.B” and an album called “Black Feather” released in 2011.
In the end, they are largely unknown to the masses. Do yourself a favor and press play.
destroyerofharmony 