by LORRAINE CARPENTER

Critics overseas simply can't get enough of New Zealand's the Datsuns, a four-headed rawk beast that trims the fat from the sexy, super sounds of 1972. Think Deep Purple, Led Zep and T-Rex with no overblown instrumental tangents, no predatory lyrics, no dino-rock trappings and no eyeliner either, just tight rawk, tight jeans, DIY ethics and Detroit friends - they've toured with the White Stripes, and the Von Bondies sing backup on their album (released by the band's own Hell Squad label, licensed to V2). After eight years together, the Datsuns find themselves in the midst of a two-year tour, with no home, no materials (apart from their suitcases) and no end in sight. The Mirror spoke to singer Dolf, who sounded perfectly sane in Austin, Texas.

Mirror: I gather you never quite fit into your local scene.

Dolf de Datsun: The Hamilton [NZ] scene was very indie, very lo-fi with weird sonic stuff and we became the opposite of that - verse, chorus, verse, chorus, pop rock, rock 'n' roll. We never tailored our songs to make them more avant-garde or more commercial, we just made it happen for ourselves. Of course, we also got lucky because what we do is in vogue at the moment.

M: Yeah. England has gone mental over you guys - NME covers, NME awards, people flying in on Concords. How do you react to the press treatment?

DDD: We're often reduced to cartoon versions of ourselves, but that's inevitable. It's much easier to digest, isn't it? "They play rock 'n' roll, they have long hair and they wear these boots and their pants are this tight, so they must drink and fuck lots of women." We're learning to deal with it, but we're looking forward to the day when we're not flavour of the month, and that'll be soon.

M: Is it fair to say you're using rock clichés to your advantage?

DDD: That's totally fair, but what makes something a cliché? I prefer to think of it as classic. People do these things for a reason, because it connects with people, and I think things become clichéd when they're not done with passion and integrity. When we go out there and jump around, we're throwing ourselves in at the deep end, we're not faking it. I think people who spend all their time intellectualizing about irony or how post-modern it is are really missing out on a good time.

M: I heard that you had a good time with the Montreal band the Datsons, who changed their name to the Datson Four to avoid confusion. How did that go down?

DDD: In a situation like that, it's best to live and let live - the more Dats'ns the better! There's so much ego out there, we just try to have fun. There was talk of them touring with us in Australia, but it didn't work out. We did hang out with them in Montreal, though, and they were so sweet, they totally understood where we came from. We gave each other hugs and stuff, it was cool, it was like, "Yeah, Dats'ns!" :

With the Sights and CPC at Cabaret
on Wednesday, March 26, 9pm, $13.50

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