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D’ASTRO – Records / Milk It (7", Run Of The Mill Records)

Posted: October 7th, 2007, by Dave Stockwell

Run Of The Mill don’t release a lot of records, but when they do they’re invariably peaches, plucked from the ever-fertile DIY scene in Leeds. D’Astro may be one of the most unusual looking fruits of the LS6 forest, germinated and tended to by frontman (and solo artist in his own right) D. Millard. They also feature Mary from the mighty Pifco on drums.

Millard claims that D’Astro make “ugly and stupid dancing music for sexy and clever people”, and their sound certainly lives up to this billing. Some totally lo-fi production, highlighted by trebly guitars scratching across some bordering-on-distorted bass and drums and glazed over by D. Millard’s witty, self aware lyrics, shove 2 songs down your throat before you’ve barely had time to take a breath. The surprisingly harsh guitars tinnily scour across the tracks, punctuating the loose, rolling rhythms that verge on baggy beats at times. This rollicking, almost makeshift, sound reminds me most of The Fall, but D’Astro certainly have enough ideas to forge an identity of their own. In particular, the girl/boy harmonies and singing at cross-purposes sound great, and the lumpen danceability of the beats suggest a great band to lose all your pretensions and get down to when they perform live.

There are barely 5 minutes of music across both sides of this 7″, but all the flab has been cut away from the meat to leave lean and strong songs that serve as a brief, but very welcome introduction to an intriguing new (since 2004!) kid on the block. I like to think of them as a David Mamet of bands: they don’t labour with wanky or unnecessary dialogue or scene setting; they just get straight to the point, make it well and make it their own. An admirable debut.

www.dastro.co.uk
www.runofthemillrecords.co.uk



Dave Stockwell

David can always be relied on to end his e-mails with one of those 'np: blah blah' things in order to remind us of how much more music he listens to every day than anybody else. His interests include rockin ' out in a major style as guitarist in Souvaris, throwing frisbees from tall buildings "just to see what happens" and simply kickin' back with his bitches in a gold-plated jacuzzi.

http://www.souvaris.com

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