Danko Jones

Born a Lion (Bad Taste/Simba)
by Scott Hefflon

Toronto rock via Sweden’s Bad Taste Records, distributed in the States by Simba Records, distributed by Revelation. Many probably first heard this rock trio on Burning Heart/Epitaph’s How We Rock comp, a smoker to say the least. Seeing as every band on that platter was worth knowing about, if no surprise that the relatively-unknown Danko Jones got some serious attention. As is often the case, the Europeans have been rockin’ out to these bad boys for a year or so, and now Americans are slowly catching on…

Born a Lion is rock’n’roll, meaning if you have to think about it too much, it ain’t gonna fly. Good’n’soulful (Danko, the singer/vocalist is black, and the brother’s got soul and the blues in his blood), the riffs are AC/DC, some of the mid-song chatter is laughably Nugent (think “Wango Tango”), and pretty much everything is served straight, 4/4 time, mid-tempo butt-boogie. Some tasty fills, a few solos (nothing like Payin’ the Dues Hellacopters), and plenty of rock’n’roll bravado (meaning you may cringe, you may chuckle, but when the girls are dancing up front by the stage, you can either hang with the elitist hipster snobs in the back, or you can whoop it up and have some fun). It’s rock’n’roll, not a philosophy dissertation (the groupies are better, they wear less, and they dance better), so take these fries with a healthy dose of salt. A handfulla tunes here, with a shot or three of whisky, will get yer next party swingin’.
(www.revhq.com)