It is always a bit of a shame when a band's studio output never quite lives up to their live shows. Many bands have fallen foul of this over years, but one of the most obvious recent examples are the British pop rockers The Struts. I became familiar with the band in 2014 when they played a tiny, long-gone venue in Plymouth called the Tiki Bar. There were probably about 30 people crammed into the bar's basement that night, but The Struts approached the show as if they were headlining Wembley Stadium. Frontman Luke Spiller, the modern equivalent of a Freddie Mercury or a Mick Jagger, strutted his way around the floor (there was no stage), while the rest of the band peeled out spiky pop rock hit after spiky pop rock hit. I was instantly a fan, but at this point the band had only released the Kiss This EP. Later that year, however, the band's debut album Everybody Wants (which I reviewed here) was released and unsurprisingly I snapped up a copy the day it came out. As much as it impressed me, and I have enjoyed listening to it over the years since, the songs on the album lacked the raw power that the band exuded on stage. Looking through the album's booklet revealed why, as the album looked to have been somewhat put together by committee. Only Spiller and guitarist Adam Slack featured on most of the songs, with numerous session musicians, co-writers, and an army of producers filling in all the blanks. As a fan of hard rock and metal, this is not something that I am used to seeing. We all know that a lot of Top 40-esque pop is put together by a number of fairly anonymous studio musicians and technicians, but rock and metal is supposed to be an anathema to that concept. Everybody Wants is still a very enjoyable album despite all of this, but it lacks the edge that the band are well known to possess. It took the band four years to follow up Everybody Wants, during which time they essentially ignored their homeland to relentlessly tour America, which I am sure was a sound business move, with YOUNG&DANGEROUS (which I also reviewed here) hitting the stores in 2018. Again, YOUNG&DANGEROUS is an enjoyable album - but it also suffered from the same over-production and 'too many cooks' syndrome as a debut. At least bassist Jed Elliott and drummer Gethin Davies were actually featured throughout the whole album this time around, but it still lacked bite. Given how long it took to get YOUNG&DANGEROUS out, I was certainly not expecting a new Struts album this year - but a surprise announcement a couple of months ago heralded the imminent arrival of album number three. Recorded in just 10 days back in April and May, Strange Days is easily the band's most complete album yet. It might not contain their best material overall, as I think there are better individual songs on their older albums, but - finally - this is The Struts without the committee and it is their most consistent and best-sounding as a result. The four band members, along with producer Jon Levine, essentially hunkered down in the studio for just under two weeks to write and record the 10 songs featured here. There is no army of studio professionals credited this time around, so this is The Struts at their most honest. As a result, this feels like 'their' album - and they clearly had a lot of fun putting it together. So much so that a number of special guests - from Robbie Williams (Take That) to Joe Elliott (Def Leppard; Down 'n' Outz) - were roped in to add their unique magic to a few of the songs; with much of the album having a infectious 'jamming with friends' vibe as a result.
Perhaps deliberately and in defiance to the band's previous over-produced approach, Strange Days starts in a rather unconventional manner. Rather than kicking things off with a harder rocking number, the album's title track opens things up rather more slowly. The poppy, semi-ballad is very atypical for an album opener, but it actually works really well. The song features Williams duetting with Spiller throughout, with the two singers playing off each other perfectly. Spiller's breathier, more modern approach to pop singing mixes perfectly with Williams' richer tones; while gentle piano and subtle strings form a suitable backing for the duet. While the song does build and expand as it moves forward, it never really explodes in the way that would be expected. Davies' percussion does eventually morph into a full-blown drum pattern, while Slack's powerful guitar chords start to add weight by the time the second chords comes around. Despite this however, the song never really loses sight of its low-key beginnings. Multiple listens to the album have brought me around to the concept of opening what is essentially a rock album with a ballad - with Spiller and Williams easily the stars here with their excellent vocal performances. All Dressed Up (With Nowhere to Go) is certainly more of a rocker, with a great 1970s glam stomp present throughout. The song centres around a Slack guitar riff that sounds like something Slade or the Sweet forgot to use, and it is backed up with a hollow, staccato drum pattern that perfectly compliments the glitter. Despite Strange Days being a very enjoyable opener, All Dressed Up (With Nowhere to Go) is more what we have come to expect from The Struts. The arrangement here is very simple, with the glam rock aesthetic really shining through, especially via Spiller's sultry vocals. It might not have the driving energy of some of their previous songs, but it is a really infectious piece that refuses to leave your head. A cover of Kiss' Do You Love Me, which appeared on their 1976 release Destroyer, is up next. It is the first cover that the band have included on one of their full-length albums, but it is a fitting choice for a band who clearly take so much from the 1970s glam rock scene. While it is not one of my favourite Kiss tracks, it really works when forced through The Struts' filter. Spiller owns the song vocally, while Slack seems to relish the opportunity to sink his teeth into some trademark Ace Frehley leads. It is a very similar style of song to the previous number, allowing the band's core sound to really shine through after the gentle introduction.
The rock vibe continues on with I Hate How Much I Want You, which is probably my favourite track on the album - and it is probably the hardest that the band have ever rocked, at least on record. Joe Elliott is featured vocally here, his distinctive voice harmonising well with Spiller as well as providing the occasional lead. The two combine perfectly on the song's hooky chorus, which is based around Slack's roaring hard rock guitar riff - which is easily the heaviest thing that he has laid down in the studio with the band. Joe Elliott even brought his mate Phil Collen (Girl; Def Leppard; Manraze) along to add a quirky, distorted guitar solo to the track, which helps to elevate the piece further. There is not much more to say about the song, as it is just a great old slab of 1970s/early 1980s-style hard rock that is packed with great hooks and attitude - which any rocker like me will appreciate. Wild Child is similar, but with a fuzzy sound that is furthered by the addition of Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine; Audioslave) providing some of his trademark riffing and guitar-based noise. While not as overtly rocking as the previous song, there is a really gritty energy that permeates throughout the piece. Jed Elliott's bass is prominent in the mix throughout, his snaking riffs really grounding the song, while Spiller presents his big rock star persona in classic fashion with some Jagger-esque vocal hooks and phrases. The Struts have never felt as vital and as hard rocking as they have on this track and I Hate How Much I Want You - and I would like to see more of this from them in the future. Cool returns to the more whimsical pop rock that the band are known for, with more snaking bass from Jed Elliott and some upbeat, chiming riffing from Slack - but with a bit of a twist. In many ways the song sounds like something of an expanded version of All Dressed Up (With Nowhere to Go). The foot-stomping rhythm is similar, but the arrangement is a little more complex this time around. The riffing is less in-your-face, which allows the guitar and bass to play off each other a little, while Spiller spits out the lyrics in a rather ad-hoc fashion - which gives the song a slightly chaotic vibe that works well. In some ways this song sounds like The Struts playing around with their established core sound and seeing just how far that they can push it, and the experimentation, for me at least, works well. Burn it Down is somewhat slower, with a rootsier feel that is not a sound that many would associate with the band. The song, to me, sometimes sounds like a modern take on the sounds of artists like Bob Seger and Tom Petty, with bluesy guitar work, off-set piano melodies, and a huskier vocal approach all coming together to recall that old heartland sound. The song is certainly pushed through a modern-sounding filter, and it does not sound out of place on the album, but it is a track that sees the band trying something new. It works well however, and Spiller does the huskier vocal thing surprisingly convincingly. The song could have sounded quite cheesy if the band had gotten it wrong, but for me it works - and I always like to see established bands trying new things.
Another Hit of Showmanship, co-written by and featuring Albert Hammond Jr. (The Strokes), is perhaps the best representation here of the band's core sound - particularly the overall sound featured on YOUNG&DANGEROUS. It is a fairly spiky piece of pop rock, with rumbling bass throughout and chiming guitar rhythms - but it is the vocal melodies that really make the song stick. Musically the song is fairly basic, but it is the charisma and vocal talents of Spiller that really make it shine. Each line that he sings is packed with hooks and melodies, with the chorus being an instant winner. There are certainly better songs here in my opinion, and it is very typical of what the band have been doing since the beginning, but on an album that takes some risks it is also nice to hear the band further refining the sound that got them where they are today. Can't Sleep is similar, with more of the groove of tracks like Cool injected back in. Between Another Hit of Showmanship and Can't Sleep, any new listener to the band would instantly get what they are about. Better songs in these styles exist on the band's previous albums, but the production used this time around makes them both shine and compete with anything the band have done previously. I cannot emphasise enough how much better the band sound on this album in comparison to the previous ones. The Struts need to have some dirt under their fingernails, and this album finally allows them to have it. Slack's guitar solo on the track is a perfect example of this, his squealing leads pouring out of the speakers - finally uninhibited by the assumed radio focus that was clearly forced on the band previously. The album comes to a close with the laid back and somewhat strange Am I Talking to the Champagne (Or Talking to You). It has something of a smoky lounge feel, with a bit of an occasional Tom Waites-esque groove, which then morphs into a quirky pop rocker with plenty of tasty guitar work and some soulful vocal harmonies courtesy of pop singer Nylo. Her voice is a perfect compliment to Spiller's heartfelt performance, and repeated listens only highlight her importance to the piece. There is room for some musical leg-stretching too, with Slack and session saxophonist Rachel Mazer trading leads and melodies throughout that only add to the song's overall jazzy vibe. This is another song, like Burn it Down, that sounds nothing like anything the band have ever done before - and it again it works well. It is a song that has really grown on me over repeated listens to the album - and it closes things out on a groovy high, with the saxophone and Spiller's vocals fading out into the darkness. Despite what seems on paper to be a really odd collection of songs, Strange Days works really well as a whole. It might not be as instantly-catchy as some of the band's previous albums, but this has become my favourite of their releases purely because of how it sounds. Nothing here sounds over-produced or endlessly tweaked within an inch of its life - and if both Everybody Wants and YOUNG&DANGEROUS had been recorded in a similar style to this one then they would have both been so much better - especially for a rock fan like me. It just feels like there was no pressure this time around, no label executive breathing down the band's neck, and that has allowed the band to be creative and deliver the goods on the own terms - a trend which I hope that they can continue going forward.
The album was released on 16th October 2020 via Interscope Records. Below is the band's promotional video for Strange Days.
No comments:
Post a Comment