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Dutch rockers THE DIRTY DENIMS are back with their brand of “happy rock” and their latest studio album — the aptly named — Party On!. I found out about THE DIRTY DENIMS when they released a video for their new single at the time (back in November 2019) “Ready, Steady, Go!”. That song ended up being the title track for their previous full-length album and I really liked that record given that I placed it at #3 on the Sleaze Roxx’s Top Ten Albums of 2020. Party On! offers more of the same that can be found on Ready Steady Go! but for whatever reason, I don’t find the songs quite as compelling this time around.

Don’t get me wrong though. The songs on Party On! are lots of fun to listen to, easy to get into with their simple structures and catchy hooks, and they will likely have you singing along in no time. However, something is missing this time around. Perhaps it’s not having the powerful anthem that they previously had with the track “Ready, Steady, Go!”? Or perhaps it’s, in my opinion, choosing the wrong tracks as the ones that should get the video treatment. I find the best songs by far are the barn burners “We Won’t Stop” and “Come On” along with the slower paced and very AC/DC musically sounding song “Devil In Me”. However, those three tracks haven’t been released as singles. It’s not that the first three songs (“Party On!”, “Victory” and “Guestlist”) on the album aren’t good because they all rock but they also feel a little generic in some ways. I also find the full out bass solo on “Guestlist” to be a little odd and especially when bassist Sebastiaan Verhoeven is not in the band anymore. The one “hot potato” position in THE DIRTY DENIMS since I have known about them is their bassist position since they are on their third bassist in the five years during that time period.

THE DIRTY DENIMS are spearheaded by band founder and lead vocalist Mirjam Sieben and lead guitarist Jerome Teunis, with the latter writing all the songs on the album except “Come On” which was brought in by Verhoeven and the lyrics which are co-written with Sieben. Speaking of Sieben, she has a very young sounding voice so I could see how her singing might not be everyone’s cup of tea. Underrated drummer Suzanne Driessen rounds out the band and provides her steady beat to the tracks on Party On!. There are a few songs that border on annoying with the repetitive lyrics. I am thinking especially of the songs “Guestlist” (the words “guest list” and “blacklist” sound very familiar) and “Why Do I Wake Up In The Middle of The Night?” with its super long title that is repeated in one way or another way too often. The chorus for the latter track goes like this: “Why do I wake up in the middle of the night? I wanna sleep tight but I have already tried. Why do I wake up in the middle of the night? Why do I wake up, wake up in the middle of”. When you throw in that the song title is repeated even more after the guitar solo and for the remainder of the song, it’s simply overkill. That track has a nice melody to it but wow, those lyrics could have been so much better.

Overall, THE DIRTY DENIMS have released a rocking album with Party On! but it just doesn’t seem to have the “wow” factor that came across from their previous album Ready Steady Go!. Party On! is still a fun record that I think that I would enjoy every time I would put it on. It’s worth picking up and adding it to your record collection.

TRACKLIST
1.Party On! 04:25
2.Victory 03:55
3.Guestlist 03:37
4.We Won't Stop 03:38
5.Devil In Me 05:25
6.Come On 03:16
7.Hell Of A Night 03:23
8.Too Loud, Too Old 03:41
9.I Want It Now! 02:51
10.Why Do I Wake Up In The Middle Of The Night 04:12