by Mark DemingYou sure can't accuse former Mono Men guitarist and Estrus Records straw boss Dave Crider of repeating himself with his new outfit, the DT's. Leaving behind the high-cranked garage rock thunder that's been Crider's trademark, the DT's call their sound"hard soul," and the description fits -- fusing the passion of classic R&B with the muscle of hard rock, the DT's add Crider's potent six-string growl to the cool but full-bodied keyboards of Patti Bell, while vocalist Diana Young-Blanchard testifies with the force of a classic soul belter. Crider kicks out the jams all right, but he's also picked up a decidedly bluesy sense of space and time, sort of like Keith Richards with a side portion of fuzz, and while Young-Blanchard's vocals bring to mind shades of Janis Joplin and Tina Turner, she's got the chops to take their influences and move them forward. Add the solid support of Bell's keyboards and Phil Carter's drums, and you have a band that could give blue-eyed soul a good name again. Hard Fixed is a strong debut from a band with muscle to spare, and hopefully they've got more mojo where this came from.