Danko Jones – Wild Cat

They’re back: Danko Jones. The two years since the last album seem to have flown by, but at the same time, it feels like an eternity. In fact, the band always come at the right moment: just when you want to declare rock dead, they come careering around the corner, smoking tyres and giving you an electric shock.

And no defibrillator can inject rock with more new life than Wild Cat – the latest outrage from the Canadians. There is not just circumstantial evidence for this, but solid proof:

Exhibit 1: Speed

Wild Cat is a 39-minute kick in the ass. At most, Below The Belt can hold on with this hurricane. Right from the first song, I Gotta Rock, Danko Jones shatters any doubts: something loud, wild and ecstatic is unleashed here. The furious Going Out Tonight, the punky Let’s Start Dancing, the steam locomotive riff of Wild Cat. Where these songs thunder, grass will never grow again.

Sometimes, the trio slows down a bit. But then the songs get really heavy. My Little RnR or Revolution cultivate a more relaxed blues-rock groove. But whether fast or heavy, the songs are like punches. Danko Jones always charges head-on.

Exhibit 2: Simplicity

Complex rock music is for Radiohead fans. Students in turtleneck sweaters talking about free jazz over a glass of red wine. Danko Jones’ world, on the other hand, is simple. His melodies are catchy. His riffs crackle and pop like fireworks. The refrains degenerate into sing-along orgasms. Hymns for the working class. The soundtrack for beer, sweat and pogo. Why should Danko Jones deviate from this recipe? He knows how to get the crowd going.

Exhibit 3: Fun

If you’re looking for melancholy, give Wild Cat a wide berth. Every vibration of the strings radiates the joy of playing. Every beat of the cowbell releases endorphins. Danko Jones lets the corks pop as if there were no tomorrow.

As with simplicity, if you want to throw a party, you have to put your heart and soul into it. Rock is not a matter for the head but for the loins. More on this later.

Exhibit 4: Self-confidence

Danko Jones’ self-confidence could also be interpreted as arrogance. However, the arrogance of the self-proclaimed «hardest working band in the world» can be taken with a wink. It’s a coquetry.

Of course, Danko Jones have a healthy dose of self-confidence. But it is one that they have worked hard for with years of passion. Anyone who has experienced the band live knows precisely what it means.

With Do This Every Night, Mountain—the song they only play at concerts—finally has a brother. In this song, they express their passion for music. With the ironic arrogance, of course:

Let’s get up to get down
I want the lights on me
We gonna rock this town

Exhibit 5: Sex

Back to the loins. Sex is not just a spicy ingredient but the basis for the hot cocktail. It almost seems as if it is their greatest artistic motivation. And yes, they are direct and explicit:

Success in bed
Is all we need
Don’t stress, undress
I take the lead

Well, frontman Danko Jones is not a tall guy. His hair would be sparse even without shaving. And he is almost blind in one eye because, for years, he hit himself on stage when the audience wasn’t freaking out enough. Nevertheless, Danko has a strange attraction. This is not primarily due to the energy of an entire army that he can unleash. Nor to his crazy tongue acrobatics or directness.

No, because Danko disarms with passion. No matter how macho the lyrics may sound. Even when he sings, «Come over here, baby, and let me love you like a man», you can feel his submissiveness towards the fairer sex. He may want to play the tough guy, but he always surrenders to a woman’s weapons without a fight.

Sex is, therefore, merely a gimmick. Danko Jones are closet romantics. It’s about love:

Nobody understands
that the two of us have something special
Like a bond that can’t be broken
Like a shield of protection
This bond of ours is unspoken

The Verdict

The evidence is on the table. Now comes the judgement.

Wild Cat continues where Below The Belt left off. The album returns to the roots: killer riffs, euphoria and the occasional spoken word.

After Danko Jones created an album for the ages with Below The Belt (2010), they parted ways amicably with drummer Dan Cornelius. They found a replacement in Atom Willard, who refused to play with a three-piece drum set. As a result, Rock And Roll Is Black And Blue (2012) was rather cumbersome. It would be harsh to call the album a real low point, but it was definitely not a highlight either.

Even Danko Jones and bassist John Calabrese realised that Willard was the wrong choice, so they brought in Rich Know, who returned to the trio for the album Fire Music (2015). Hallelujah! Fire Music did away with the blues, but here and there, the trio still had to find its groove.

Now, with Wild Cat, they seem to have. The album vibrates, roars and pounds. It is erotic and rebellious. In short, it is rock ‘n’ roll in its purest and rawest form. Wild Cat has the DNA of Danko Jones. A cheeky immorality. A new high point.

Danko Jones – Wild Cat

Release: 03/03/2017

1. I Gotta Rock
2. My Little RnR
3. Going Out Tonight
4. You Are My Woman
5. Do This Every Night
6. Let's Start Dancing
7. Wild Cat
8. She Likes It
9. Success In Bed
10. Diamond Lady
11. Revolution (But Then We Make Love)