They say that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, and the same can be said for records. However, in the case of Partly Animals, the second album to be born from the collaboration of Germany's Tex Napalm and France's Dimi Dero, the dark, dirty and gritty artwork throughout the accompanying booklet is an accurate visual representation of the music contained on the disc.
The bass-heavy intro of opening track, Feed Me, hits you deep down from the get-go. With its bluesy overtones and Napalm's deep vocals, the track sets the mood for the rest of the album, and things just get better and better as you make your way through the following 13 tracks. Temptation is, quite simply, a perfect example of what makes this record so good. It has more of a country feel to it than the other songs, thereby bringing some variety to the album while still maintaining the overall feel and pace. Following immediately on is All Too Much, which, with its driving guitar hook, overwhelms the senses and leaves you wanting more.
Repeated listening reveals new elements to the songs, of which To Paradise is a good example. Initially, the songs seem to be quite straightforward, yet as you become more familiar with them, they reveal their less obvious, but just as important, layers.
Considering Napalm and Dero have been quoted as saying that they do not write songs as much as just improvise, this is one hell of an album. The overall mood of Partly Animals is deep and brooding and, while their influences are not particularly hidden, Napalm and Dero have managed to give it their own spin, subsequently putting their own quality mark on the world of dirty rock'n'roll.
