Irish punk funk outfit Def Nettle unleash their wild card debut album DN001 today, 9th February, 2024 , along with focus track ‘Don’t’ . Led by vocalist and producer Glen Brady , DN001 brings together the live band and many other musical contributors in a fiery and emotional mix of lyricism and punk rock attitude, built over solid funk and indie grooves.
There is a distinctly eclectic feel to the music that comes together consistently with Brady’s mixture of “arresting baritone,” as per the Irish Times , combined with his spoken word and almost rap-like deliveries. Sprinkled throughout the album are hard-hitting verses and choruses with co-vocalist Lisa Doyle , whose sharp Dublin tones jump out at the listener with gritty authenticity.
Often hailed as multi-genre and stylistically unpredictable, the storytelling and poetic vision in the lyrics reflect Brady’s broad life experiences. Bombastic anthems like ‘The Pills’ have an air of tragedy and reflection that is brought centre stage on ‘Four Years’ . The latter track delves into femicide, specifically the murder of Brady’s ex-girlfriend.
Brady says of ‘Four Years’: “This is an honest and intense ballad of lost love, death and the injustice of violence against women but it’s also an expression of angst, frustration and helplessness within modern masculinity. It’s a tale of the profound impact that the murder of my ex had on me and the personal transformation that came in the aftermath of that event. While not being overtly political, there’s a feeling within the album of disenchantment with modern society, the role of artist and the commercialization of our lives.”
Songs like ‘God’s Trainers’ and ‘Piss Take’ rail against these same issues while still being introspective and examining the trials and tribulations of creating art. Addiction and recovery come to the fore on the abrasive yet dreamily personal penultimate track ‘German Cars’ .
The guitars range from melodic goth and alternative melodies like on 2022 single ‘Architecture’ (which stayed at #2 on the German Indie charts for 8 weeks) to more aggressive rock tones reminiscent of Queens of the Stone Age, such as on tracks ‘Invisible’ (played by Grouse frontman Ronan Carroll ) and the resonance of opener ‘Don’t’ . There’s also a distinctly proto-punk feel to much of the album’s guitars with harsh skate rock vibes, as heard on their debut single ‘The Pills’ (guitars by Dan Donnelly of The Levellers) and recent single ‘Boat Race’ (guitars by Greg Earl of Californian skate punk heroes Cement Eater). Indie tones are apparent throughout the record, with much contribution from collaborator Joe Donegan .
Bass duties on ‘War Machine’ are instantly recognizable as being played by recently deceased guitarist Andy Rourke of The Smiths , whom Glen worked with on the D.A.R.K. album with The Cranberries’ legendary chanteuse, Dolores O’Riordan (RIP). Guitars on ‘War Machine’ are played by Graeme Slattery (The Devlins, Boy in Cords), who brings a softer vision to the album with hints of Talk Talk and even Prefab Sprout. Some tracks use synth bass, but overall live bass duties are taken care of by band member Ely Siegel , whose liquid yet funky and distorted basslines tie together the diverse styles displayed on the record.
Brady’s years as a DJ and producer in electronic music and his interest in the world of analog and modular synths is also unmistakeable throughout the album, at times setting a melancholy juxtaposition to driving arpeggios and energetic keyboard lines.
The majority of the live drums are played by Jay Oglesby , well known as one of the busiest session drummers in Ireland and as a founding member of Liquid Wheel. Combined with Brady’s hip-hop and punk based production techniques, the drums on DN001 have a boom-bap quality while still retaining speed, innovation and variation.
DN001 is an album that combines many eras of rock, punk, hip-hop, alternative and electro music with a rich tradition of storytelling, tragedy and the brevity of artistic life (and human life in general). It’s no wonder that The Sunday Independent labeled Brady as sounding like “a punk Tom Waits rapping over Primal Scream” , but it’s hard to miss the influences of bands like The The, Public Enemy, Joy Division and The Butthole Surfers, as well. Eclectic indeed.
DEF NETTLE – DN001
FRIDAY 9TH FEBRUARY 2024
TRACK LIST
1. Don’t
2. The Pills
3. Invisible
4. Boat Race
5. God’s Trainers
6. Four Years
7. Piss Take
8. Architecture
9. German Cars
10. War Machine feat. Andy Rourke
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