We last reviewed Donots in 2002 when Nick wrote about ‘Pocketrock’. I think that kind of sums up the band’s influence on the UK scene – they’ve done marvellously well on the continent, but not so well in this country. The band have been over once or twice during that time (OK, it’s probably more than that but it’s hardly prolific!) and I’m not certain their releases have been given a proper release in the UK. They may be big in Japan and massive in their homeland of Germany, but despite a small, hardcore fanbase here they’ve barely made a splash.
That, however, has been rectified as Lockjaw have put out ‘The Long Way Home’, six months after it was released in Germany (and actually charted as high as 24 in Germany’s top album sales). The band claim this is their attempt at pushing the boundaries and changing their sound, but as a cynic it seems to me this is more about finding their feet in the new world order, trying to be relevant in a scene that classes them as washed up and has-beens. Maybe that’s a bit harsh, but I remember Donots from when I was a young buck, desperately seeking to find new SoCal-sounding bands through labels like Burning Heart and Epitaph. The likes of lead off single ‘Calling’ and it’s slight electronic edge makes it sound like a band desperately trying something ‘current’. Throw it in with the melodic rock ‘High and Dry’ and the chaotic ‘Dead Man Walking’ and you have a band with an identity crisis. At times it sounds more like a compilation album of different bands than one group of musicians writing a cohesive record.
‘The Long Way Home’ isn’t a bad album by any stretch, it just sounds a bit confused: like a band desperately seeking relevance at a time when, quite frankly, they’re not. Donots, for me, were better when they knew what they sounded like, not when they desperately tried to find a niche, struggled, so recorded a mish-mash of different styles. Still, credit where it’s due after eight studio albums, 13 singles and even more music videos. Donots are still going and hardcore fans will probably love this and embrace them when they tour the UK next year.