While you may be familiar with some of their other bands, including the much-missed Throat and The Bear Black Saloon, this three-piece are out to, well, carve their names in a new niche. Leaning heavily at first into the dreamy, trippy kind of rock Queens Of The Stone Age used to be so good at doing, with some very strong pop sensibilities, opener “The Feel” pulls and drags at itself, threatening to shift up the gears but refusing to budge outside of mid-paced. The almost absent minded vocal approach lends to the sense of uncertainty, while the ringing guitar riff in the middle pierces, adding to the unsettled mood. The drum thumping, sample-heavy outro marks this out as a deeply troubled, dark pop-rock song . Elsewhere though, especially during “It Bends In The Middle” and “On The Shelf,” big, rocking riffs can be found ducking and diving though the mix.

“Slice” is initially a little left behind. The sort of track that’ll probably open up more in a live setting as it does have a foot to the floor vibe in sections, but without making a huge impact and coming over with more of a Jimmy Eat World or Weezer vibe than should be acceptable. After a couple of listens though, it reveals its true colours, nagging quietly until it gets under your skin, especially once the Brand New lyrical approach becomes apparent. “Heaven Knows” rolls along like another superb Queens Of The Stone Age circa Rated R outtake, before things slow to a crawl with “Size 9.” It’s slinky, smoke filled club, slouching rock tendencies gel nicely with the whispered vocals and some percussive bass playing.

“On The Shelf,” previously released as a single, is a little beauty, which alongside “Bends In The Middle” act as the lynchpins of this record. “Bends…” opens with a distant riff that starts to get closer, jumping in with a lovingly simple, thumping bass line and easy drums. Guitars slice in and out during the verses, revving back in for the infectious choruses. The straightforward structure works wonderfully, but it’s muddled by instruments dipping in and out. The half-second stop/starts that pepper the track give it a brash edge and it’s over before you know what’s happened. This one in particular warranting multiple listens.

“On The Shelf” is slightly more on the softly, softly side of things with it’s gentle, swaying verses and ringing guitar tones. This is the one song that comes closest to what Throat used to do. There’s something in the guitars and the drumming which makes it seem familiar. With the help of Tanya Mellotte on vocals it’s a rumbling little number, once again highlighting their knack for knowing how to pen a catchy chorus, the outro picks up on this and is laden with subtle hooks.

At only nine songs overall however it’s rather short for a debut, but then I suppose it comes down to quality over quantity which really seals the deal. “Dead Screams Death” is a brief and pointless, Metallica-like jam which adds nothing to the overall scheme of things, bringing the hit rate down to eight tracks proper, but overall they’ve got things pretty spot on (check out “Thunder Chief” for some weighted down riffing excellence).

The odd stumble here and there aside, “Put The Last Touch To It” in particular being mid-album filler, it’s a solid, if slightly sugary at times debut from which they should definitely grow something even better. Working well as a three-piece there’s a good grounding here for Dutch Schultz to build on. Plenty of times throughout the guitars cut out completely, leaving just bass, drums and vocals to carry on, before the six-strings come back in to drive forwards towards the chorus.

You’ll miss a lot on the first listen as you try to get to grips with what Dutch Schultz are doing, but then as you sit back and start to let the songs take hold you notice the slight, early Therapy?-tinges during “The Feel” or “Thunder Chief,” which boasts a gloriously pounding, extended outro. Plus, with “Bends In The Middle,” “Heaven Knows” and “On The Shelf” they’ve got some summer day songs for you to laze around to. All we need now is for the weather to hold. Certainly ones to watch.

www.dutchschultz.com