Review: Perfection Kills by Dan Patlansky

By Scott Bampton

Due out on Friday, February 2nd, Perfection Kills is the ninth release from South African blues-rock guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist, Dan Patlansky. Picking up right where his 2017 Introvertigo left off, Perfection Kills proves Patlansky is a guitar slayer, a killer vocalist, and now, a sharpshooter behind the mixing console. While long-time producer Theo Crous (who worked on Patlansky’s previous two albums) was involved in the writing and pre-production stages, Patlansky opted to produce Perfection Kills himself. Far from being an exercise in self-ego-massaging, it’s an inspired decision, as the pristine production values perfectly complement Patlansky’s signature brand of stadium blues. After all, who knows an artist’s music better than themselves? And when that artist knows their way around a studio the way Patlansky does, the result is a career-best record.

Opening up with the AC/DC-like “Johnny”, Patlansky rasps in his grungy timbre, “Hit ‘em high, hit ‘em low, hit ‘em hard,” which sets the tone perfectly for the record ahead. Throughout the album, hard-hitting guitar riffs come at you from all angles – some in a brutal frontal assault, others as a sneaky haymaker when your guard is down. It’s a testament to Patlansky’s songwriting dexterity, which is on full display on “Junket Man” – sounding like a cheeky blues-rock spin on James Barry’s immortal, “James Bond Theme.” For the majority of the three-minute track, Patlansky tones down his guitar playing, allowing Andy Maritz’s drums, Dean Barrett’s keys, and Clint Falconer’s bass to create a smooth groove. That’s until lightning-fast guitar sweeps fly out of nowhere right as the song seems to be winding down to a conclusion. It’s unexpected twists like these that prove Patlansky has continued to mature as a musician, moving further and further away from the guitar solo-heavy work of his early career.

“Shake the Cage” also proves Patlansky has mastered the advanced blues guitar skill of knowing when not to play – during the song’s two brief solos, he mutes his strings after each stroke, rather than letting the notes ring out. The staccato effect creates ample space for the song to breathe, and the tune benefits greatly from the resulting feeling of completeness. That organic approach to writing and producing is no accident, as Patlansky explains how Perfection Kills differs from previous releases: “To me it feels like a band playing live in the studio which isn’t far from the truth…the songs are still the priority and always will be, but on this album, they come across far closer to the way they will sound live.”