Thirty-plus years ago, when I was a radio DJ in college (WHCL 88.7 FM), one of the bands whose music we played was a California group called The Din.
In case you want to appreciate the Din’s music – at least the same music we played on our turntables in the basement of the Minor Theater way back in the early 1980’s – here’s a cut from their debut album “Great Tradition.” The track is called “Reptiles,” and this was the album’s lone charting single.
The Din’s record company shut down in the wake of a major embezzlement scandal, but the group soldiered on. They released one more album, Talking Machine Plate, before calling it quits.
Over the years, I’ve kept the music of The Din in my heart – eventually I was able to present my final article for Goldmine magazine on the history of the band.
Now, in 2014, the group has returned to the studios, with their first album all-new music in decades, Authenticity.
And can I tell you something? This record sounds awesome.
I received my copy yesterday – it exists on both vinyl and CD – and I immediately put the CD copy in my car, so that I could hear this group and enjoy their music one more time.
And all I could think of, as I listened to the opening track “Voodoo Hotel,” was how cool this would be as part of the soundtrack to a Quentin Tarantino film, or maybe just as the background music for cruising through the streets at night in a late-model convertible.
Don’t believe me? Take a listen for yourself.
Yeah? You hear what I’m saying?
Wrap your ears around another track here, a sonic poem called “Too Much Clutter.” Great stuff.
There’s an old koan that says that your musical tastes evolve with exposure. So I’m hoping that once you’re exposed to The Din’s music, it too will become part of your music collection. “Authenticity,” along with the Din’s earlier albums “Great Tradition” and “Talking Machine Plate,” are available on both iTunes and on bandcamp.com,
Take a listen. You will not be disappointed. I promise.
Chuck The Writer 