The DeSotos - Cross Your Heart

Cross Your Heart
the reviews...

The first review is by Manu Taylor and was broadcast on Radio New Zealand on Friday July 25. Here are a couple of quotes by Manu

'... the best album this year by a New Zealand artist - by a million miles'
'... the voice is just genius'
'... seriously the best vocalist I've heard in a long time'
Manu Taylor - Jul 25, 2008

listen to Manu Taylor's full review that played on National Radio - Friday July 25

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Steve Scott of the Waikato Times: (House and Lifestyle, August 2008)

Every once in a while, an album arrives and instantly commands your attention. Auckland band, The DeSotos is such a band.

From the very beginning, The DeSotos don't disappoint. They are illuminating with a powerful blend of rock-infused country-blues.

The musicians that make up this band – Paul Gurney, Rex McLeod, Stuart McIntyre and Ron Stevens – reveal a strong chemistry that celebrates a rockin' spirit of musical communion.

Tracks including The Spirit, Greedy Men, Invisible and Goodbye, are timeless, perfectly arranged and delivered in earnest and, at times, harmonic tones.

Other compositions, including Sat on a Mountain, with blazing harmonica from Midge Marsden and Love Lost Time featuring a lead guitar highlight recalling the late Duane Allman's Eat a Peach period, reveals The DeSotos have struck gold with Cross Your Heart.

One of the finest debuts I have heard this year.

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Graeme Reid; writer for www.elsewhere.co.nz (August 2008)

TheDeSotos: Cross Your Heart (Ode)

If CDs are dead as we keep being told you do wonder why people not only keep making them, but also why record companies put so much effort into their expensive packaging -- like this from an Auckland-based band which shaves off a generous slice of Americana country rock (a mighty crowded genre) and wrap it up in an attractive package with a lyric sheet.

Well, I guess Ode heard these crisp, memorable, wide-screen country-rock songs -- like the Warratahs with more kick and menace in places -- and figured it was worth the effort. And I agree.

These songs immediately grab attention for their twang and jangle or heartfelt sentiment, the strength of the songwriting within the four-piece (either individual compositions or the writers in various combinations) and the spiritual connections to the Springsteen/Petty/Neil Young axis - although in a couple places the connections may be a bit too close for comfort or originality.

Crisply produced by Steve Garden in his small home studio these songs have an emotional and sometimes almost palpably physical expansiveness that leap out of your stereo -- and incidentally sound tailor-made for long drives.

Solid and crafted country-rock that in a more open-minded radio climate would be all over the local airwaves.

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The De Sotos - Cross Your Heart
Thursday August 21, 2008

Rating: * * *

Named after the classic car (and not presumably the explorer) this Auckland-based outfit peel off a substantial slice of professionally delivered, wide-screen country-rock which owes much to the Petty/Springsteen/Neil Young and Travelling Wilburys axis, and mostly kicks things up a notch from the Warratahs.

With a couple of writers in their ranks there is also a pleasing diversity here, although sometimes they reference their influences just a little too much for any accusations of originality to be thrown.

When they nail something of their own - the tense jangle of The Spirit, the tight churn of Greedy Men, the heartfelt Offline - they offer songs which are classy and fully formed.

From the opener 59 Cadillac through to the ballads in the closing overs, this is enjoyable rockin' country music full of twang and backbeat which sounds even better when a ribbon of highway stretches out ahead and you are in no hurry.

As the opener says, 'there ain't nothin' like rain on a two lane, driving fast with the radio on'.

Well, someone's already supplying the rain, The DeSotos have the soundtrack.

Graham Reid (NZ Herald Time Out)

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THE DESOTOS - CROSS YOUR HEART (from Music Oasis, Waihi

Although the Auckland-based DeSotos have only existed for three years, the roots of the band stem back to early '80s Wellington when the two main songwriters, Paul Gurney and Stuart McIntyre, played together in the successful country rock band Wells Fargo. The two collaborated in other line ups over the years until both eventually ended up in Auckland where they met drummer Rex McLeod and keyboard player Ron Stevens.

'Cross Your Heart' draws on a myriad of tastes and musical loves,ranging from swampy southern roots through rock and country blues. The strong melodic hooks & harmonies of The DeSotos are influenced by the likes of Neil Young and Tom Petty.

The CD has been expertly recorded and produced by Steve Garden at his Sandringham studio, and he has captured a live, transparent feel in the mix. In the words of Mike O'Neill from Liquid Studios….'a debut that rewards the listener with moments of thoughtfulness and timeless beauty.'

Track Listing
'59 Cadillac
The Spirit
Greedy Men
Invisible
Offline
Lonely Star
Rollercoaster
Sat On A Mountain
Crazy World
Love Lost Time
Summer Wine
When You Dance
Goodbye

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The DeSotos: Cross Your Heart
by Sean McWilliams - (New Zealand Musician Magazine)

This debut from The DeSotos is something of an aberration among current NZ releases - a waltz through Americana-tinged blues rock 'n' roll. Less bluesy than say Midge Marsden, and with an uplifting country twang and pop flourish, 'Cross Your Heart' nicely straddles the middle ground.The interweaving vocal harmonies of Paul Gurney and bass player Stuart McIntyre underpinned by a mix of Gurney's slide guitar, jazz-inflected beats from drummer Rex McLeod and the lush, swirling Hammond and Wurlitzer organ sounds of Ron Stevens provide a very distinctive palette. All very experienced musicians, these guys sound well at home in this territory. The Auckland-based four-piece cite Neil Young and Tom Petty as melodic influences, and to my ears, latter period Springsteen could be thrown into that mix as well. Album highlightsinclude Sat On A Mountain (complete with guest harmonica from MidgeMarsden), album opener '59 Cadillac, and the countrified melodics of Greedy Men. Recorded by Steve Garden this is a solid album, and if you're after something in a blues vein that runs well you could do a lot worse than picking 'Cross Your Heart' off the shelf.

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