As I sat across from him, I surveyed his disheveled yet somehow organized appearance: the stylish clothes that were beginning to wear thin, the swept-aside hair that constantly fell back into his eyes, the black coffee that was keeping those eyes alert, the thick sideburns that must have been his natural hair color and the lines on his face that gave away hints of the tour stories that he wouldn't tell out of respect (or fear) for all the mothers that might read this. This man was rock 'n roll. Or maybe garage rock? Perhaps late-sixties throwback? Without a doubt, he was a hip addition to a contemporary influx of ultra-cool, slightly swank, retro guitar-slingers out to make the kids swoon and the parents reminisce in secret.

After touring for two years on their previous album, 6Twenty, the D4 spent 8 months at home struggling to write new material but realized that there was too much going on around them to be capable of 100% immersion into a record to be proud of. An overseas opportunity arose and they spent 4 months shacked up in a filthy South London flat, ignoring the outside world and churning out 40 new songs, the brainchildren of getting the hell on each others nerves while living in a desolate Siberian-esque wasteland. Oohh. Tension! Eleven tracks and 10 days in a recording studio later, having paused only for fuss-ball and [hopefully] bathroom breaks, the D4 prepared to launch the new album, Out of My Head, to the world.

Despite having little time off to let actual blood pump through their veins instead of ethanol and espresso, they were super keen to get back on the road in support of the new album with the Hives. It's been a wacky transition, from indie to major label, but they are handling it well and loving where they are. Regardless of the sudden onset of a lot of people saying "Do this; Do that, right now or I'll poke you", they still have total control over what they do, how they sound, and who they are. They've really earned this part in their music careers, being from a tiny corner of the world [New Zealand]meant they had to pay extra dues to become successful, but it's been worth it and they'll be riding the wave for a long time to come.

According to Mr. Christmas, the boys have grown up a lot since the last album, which seemed to mainly focus on getting some classy birds to drink their weight in whiskey and take off their pants. Since the first song off the latest record is admittedly "a drinking anthem and tribute to all those who have and will party with the D4. Ponshu wo buchikome! Beeru ni buchikome!", one cannot be entirely convinced, although this time around they are a little more subtle about it and disguise it behind their bad Japanese and smooth-talk.

I remain confident that even though they're getting older and more worldly, all they secretly want to do is shred some chords, kick some amps, grab a pint and continue to rock and roll all night and party hard every day like it's 1999. I mean, 2005. Seriously, my mom would have loved this band if she had been a slut. Hai!

-jen
originally written for Satellite Magazine.