The Struts' 'YOUNG&DANGEROUS' - Album Review

Around four years ago, I discovered a band called The Struts. I cannot remember quite how I discovered them, but I think I may have been looking through a list of upcoming gigs that were taking place in Plymouth and happened to notice their name. They were scheduled to play at the Tiki Bar, a tiny basement venue in the city which is now long gone, and a quick exploration piqued my interest. At the time the band had not released an album, but a few singles were available online. I liked what I heard and decided to go to the Tiki Bar show. While only around 30 other people turned up to the show, I think it is fair to say that we all witnessed something special that night. Not seeming to care that the turnout was poor, The Struts played like they were headlining Wembley Stadium, with their modern take on 1970s glam rock really going down a treat. A few months later and the band's debut album Everybody Wants (which I reviewed here) was released. While certainly not an instant hit, the album has done well for the band since being released. The version of the album that I have is now unavailable, as it was re-released with a different cover and a slightly different track listing in 2016 when the band signed to Interscope Records. I believe that this re-release was also primarily for the band's ever-expanding American market, a country which the vast majority of the band's efforts have been focused on for the past few years. No major UK tours have happened since the tiny venue trek of 2014, with occasional club dates and festival appearances the only bones being thrown to the band's home country. America is clearly where The Struts see themselves however, and the band's ultra-British brand of rock has certainly gone down well over there. Plenty of headline touring, and tours with bands like the Foo Fighters and The Rolling Stones has certainly helped to raise The Struts' profile, but what fans like me had really been waiting for was the band's second album. Then, finally, back in October and over four years after Everybody Wants was released the band's second album YOUNG&DANGEROUS was released into the world. Four years is a long time to wait to release your second album, and would have been career death in the past, but the strategy seems to have worked for The Struts. In America especially the band are quite popular now, so this new-found popularity is sure to have helped boost sales. Soundwise, YOUNG&DANGEROUS is quite similar to Everybody Wants, with the band's mix of 1970s glam rock and modern indie still intact. Shades of Queen, T.Rex, Oasis, and The Libertines are still present, but the theatrical element seems to have been dialled up somewhat. This is a much bigger sounding album than the band's debut, and contains a bit more of a variety of song styles also.

A clicking rhythm and a fuzzy guitar riff heralds the opening of Body Talks, one of the album's songs, which is instantly packed with the dramatic flair the band have become known for. Guitarist Adam Slack alternates between laid back verse grooves and all-out hard rock during the choruses, all while frontman Luke Spiller displays why he is this generation's Freddie Mercury with a diverse and powerful vocal performances. The choruses here show the band on full power, and are packed with real energy. The slow-burning verses only make the choruses hit with more power, and they are extremely catchy - making for a hooky opening to the album. Primadonna Like Me really raises the bar, and opens with a powerful guitar riff from Slack, which is packed full of classic rock grit, before the groovy verses kick in with some snaking playing from bassist Jed Elliott that proves to be a great backing for a theatrical vocal performance. As with the previous song however, it is the chorus where the song really comes alive. The vocal melodies are like a perfect melding of modern indie rowdiness mixed in with glam rock sparkle, and is sure to put a smile on the face of even the most-jaded rocker. Songs like this are hard to ignore, and are sure to get many a foot tapping and a head nodding. In Love With a Camera has a bit more of a modern pop rock sound, with subtle synths adding sparkle to the verses and occasional gang vocals providing melodic hooks. There is little of the band's hard rock sound here, but the song is still packed with energy and comes roaring out the blocks with an infectious groove throughout. Spiller's high vocals in the choruses are extremely impressive, and this is backed by a great party drum beat from drummer Gethin Davies. Slack throws in the occasional fluid guitar lead, but largely this is a very rhythmic song that relies on the sugary vocal melodies and the pounding beats to get by. Bulletproof Baby is somewhat of a weaker effort in my opinion, and seems to take lots of cues from the 1990s Britpop movement. Hollow drums and droning guitars make up the song's main musical form, and it really lacks a hooky riff or melody to latch on. Despite this, Spiller's vocal performance is still strong which shows he could probably sing over just about anything and still impress. This is evident during the foot-stomping chorus which, although somewhat catchy, is just a bit too ham-fisted to really shine. It is is not particularly a bad song, but it certainly lacks the flair of the opening three numbers.

Who Am I? is a bit of a strange song, but is packed full of catchy little melodies that it make enjoyable. The song seems to have taken quite a lot of cues from funk music, with Elliott's bass playing really standing out and the guitars adding jangly chords here and there for effect. This, along with the extremely consistent drum beat throughout, would mean that the song would be a big dancefloor filler in clubs - which also means that the song would probably be great fun live. The band's rock roots are represented with a short, but tasteful, guitar solo - but on the whole this is a song that relies on a big groove to make its point, and it pulls it off. People is another less memorable piece, and seems rely too heavily on synths early on which really lessens its impact. The verses are pretty sparse, with only a distant drum pattern and fairly cold synths backing up an unremarkable vocal performance, and things do not ramp up all that much during the choruses either which turn out to be a bit of a drone with an uninteresting wall of guitars and a sluggish beat. This is certainly one of the album's weaker tracks, and in my opinion it fails to make any kind of impact whatsoever. Fire (Part 1) is a big improvement however, and has a great classic rock vibe that builds up dramatically over the course of the song - all of which culminates in a big chorus that is filled with layers of backing vocals and tremolo guitar leads. Everything missing in the previous song is present here, and sees the band working to their full potential. This is modern anthemic hard rock done well, and the theatrical nature of the band really shows here. Slack also gets a real chance to show off with a fairly lengthy guitar solo that is packed with lots of great little melodies. Somebody New is the album's ballad and mixes acoustic guitar and piano melodies together early on to create a gentle feeling. The band had not really attempted a power ballad before this song, and for a first effort this is a pretty good one. The song picks up the pace a little as it moves along, which certainly reduces the true ballad feel, but mostly things feel fairly sombre and downbeat. Spiller's lyrics are strong here, and he sings them in a convincingly emotional way which is sure to draw the listener in. The chorus still remains a bit of the band's anthemic spirit too, which is interesting to see.

Tatler Magazine really shows the band's Queen influence in a big way, with piano and string melodies dominating early before the song explodes into a theatrical chorus that has a bit of a circus vibe about it. The second verse is pure Queen, with Spiller showing his true vocal range with some somewhat comedic-low vocals that soon give way to his usual expressive style. Those who are a fan of Queen's more playful songs from their first few albums will love this, and Slack even contributes a Brian May-esque guitar solo to the piece which is packed full of quirky little melodies. This is The Struts at their most fun, and it never fails to make me smile. I Do it So Well is a bit of a strange song, and certainly feels like the band attempted to write a hip hop song and had a change of heart half way through and turned it into a rock song. The verses are basically just a big synth beat that features some half spoken/half rapped lyrics (think The Streets), but the choruses features some more traditional rock instrumentation with a decent guitar riff and booming drums. The two pieces do fit well together, but it is just not a style on the whole that I can get behind. Freak Like You is better, and is based around a somewhat familiar-sounding anthemic drum beat which certainly makes it instantly memorable. Playful piano melodies are used occasionally to add some quirkiness, and big acoustic guitar chords are used even when the song really ramps up to add some real depths. The choruses here are powerful and are sure to go down well live due to their catchy nature. The subtle use of gang vocals ensures their power is maintained, and makes for an enjoyable late-album piece. Ashes (Part 2) is the album's closing number, and adds some dramatic flair to the album's end with a mixture of piano-led slower sections and crashing rock sections that feature some of Spiller's best vocals. The rather schizophrenic nature of the song actually ends up working in its favour, as the pieces all knit nicely together to make a dynamic whole. The best moment for me however is Slack's best guitar solo on the album. It is quite lengthy, and packed with lots of fast runs that get the blood pumping. He is clearly a very talented guitarist, so I would like to see him doing more of this in the future! More Struts songs need solos, but it is great that there are a few strong ones throughout this album. Overall, YOUNG&DANGEROUS is a strong second album from The Struts and one that I am sure will help them reach a wider audience. A couple of the experimental tracks do not really work for me, but the songs that focus on the band's core sound really impress. Some versions of the album feature an alternative version of Body Talks with guest vocals from pop singer Kesha, which may also help the band to cross over to a new audience.

The album was released on 26th October 2018 via Interscope Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Primadonna Like Me.