The D4
Ladies Man

That AC/DC’s ‘Highway To Hell’ was recently voted the nation’s most favoured tune should tell you much about the pop sensibilities of New Zealand.

From a nation that has exported little since Split Enz, The D4 join their countrymen the Datsuns as newly-touted saviours of Kiwi rock. On the strength of this single though, any plaudits garnered thus far seem grossly premature.

Whilst the Datsuns cranked up the Vox AC30s and the sub-Bolan riffs with a knowing smile, The D4 show very few flourishes to distinguish them from any distinctly average pub rock band. The lyrics are banal, lacking the self-awareness that would make this just possibly acceptable.

Teach this foursome a fourth chord and they may just sprout forth something vaguely melodic and challenging from their quagmire. The subject matter of ‘Ladies Man’ may hint to subversive androgyny, but the tune itself is definitively clod-footed complacency.