All of the pictures of Kane in the CD's booklet find her wearing very little - whilst the lyrics have moved away from themes of love and a few innuendos and towards David Coverdale telling us that he is going to slide it in. This might be a bit much for some but, to paraphrase Spinal Tap, there is nothing wrong with being sexy - with the music, lyrics, and overall image all coming together to create a strong album that feels more intense than her previous work. The album kicks off with its title track - with a staccato drum groove opening things up, over which a pretty simple power chord and synth riff is laid. The guitar tone and the chord progression are very 1980s-coded, though, and Kane's core sound is established from the off. As if to build on the sounds of the era being evoked, backing vocals are often used in a call-and-response manner throughout the verses - whilst the hard-hitting opening riff and some occasional screaming guitar leads add colour. Kane herself sounds as good as ever vocally. She has a powerful voice, but there is a bluesy edge to it which gives her an organic feel - which gives her albums character. The synths and gated drums are grounded by Kane's vocal performances - but she still nails all the trademark vocal melodies of the era. The chorus here is a real sing-a-long moment as a result, with those big backing vocals returning to create some soaring harmonies, whilst a saxophone solo is later used to add some more bluesy and soulful vibes to the piece. A screaming guitar solo would be more expected, but the saxophone works well - and there is a sultriness to the song as a result. Personal Rock n' Roll ups the pace. The opening title track is very much a mid-paced and anthemic piece, but this second cut is much more energetic and overtly hard rocking. The main guitar riffing here feels a bit crunchier - whilst the rhythm section picks up the pace with some hard-hitting drumming. Synth stabs are used as accents during the verses, which is a classic 1980s AOR trick, and the pulsing keyboards tend to act as full stops after each lyric line - with their bright melodies contrasting nicely with Kane's somewhat more urgent vocal delivery. Due to the pace, the song's chorus is not as overtly anthemic as many of the others here - but there is something pleasing about its harder rocking edge, and Kane still lays down some strong hooks. Eriksson's first solo is here, too, and his shredded guitar playing further elevates the harder rocking song. Night of Passion returns to a more mid-paced sound, with pulsing synthy basslines and gated drums perfectly creating a melodic rock base for Kane's higher-pitched vocal delivery - whilst Rexon lays down some shredded guitar melodies of his own early on. There is much less guitar riffing here, though, with the guitars generally in the background unless they are delivering leads. The pulse of the rhythm section is the main driving force this time, but the synths also do a lot of heavy lifting - with the accent-like approach of the previous song built upon with plenty of AOR-esque keyboard stabs and melodies throughout both the verses and the chorus. The latter returns to a more anthemic feel, with call-and-response backing vocals giving it a massive sound - whilst a Steve Porcaro-esque synth solo and another surprise saxophone solo lead to a rather yacht rock-esque instrumental mid-section.
Strip Me Down returns to a much more typical harder rock sound, with chugging guitar rhythms kicking in from the off - whilst Night Ranger-esque keyboard stabs provide a main musical hook early on. Screeching guitar leads are thrown in here and there, too, to aid that harder rocker sound - but much of the heavy lifting here is done by some powerful drumming and some of Kane's sleaziest vocals on the album. She sings the song in a grittier manner than is typical of her smooth and AOR-esque approach - but a rougher edge of her voice is on show here and it works well given the chugging guitar riffing and occasional bluesy leads. Some moments of cowbell-led drumming in the lead up to each chorus create a strong percussive feel at times - before each chorus rendition then explodes with faster vocal melodies, huge vocal harmonies, and a great sleazy vibe. Another busy guitar solo later adds to the sleazy feel - with the song being a real highlight overall. Tongue of Love somewhat returns to the vibes of Night of Passion, insofar as it feels very keyboard driven. There are guitars in the background, and they play a very typical slow-burning AOR chord progression that allows for booming drums behind it alongside a stab of synths with each chord change. Variations of this song have been released by essentially every AOR act going at this point, but the chord progression works for a reason - and it allows for strident verses and a much more powerful chorus which sees the song ramp up with bigger keyboards and plentiful vocal harmonies. The more deliberate mid-paced feel allows for a sultry vibe to really settle in, whilst funkier bass lines are occasionally given prominence to further an over all 1980s feel - alongside yet another big guitar solo from Eriksson. Love Tornado opens with a building drum beat, over which a shredded guitar motif is soon overlaid. The opening vocal lines, though, are just sung against the maintained drum groove, despite some synths in the background, but the guitars and bass soon join in - and the verses from this point on are snappy. The main guitar riff in the background of the verses has a strong hair metal feel - and this song overall feels a bit spikier than some of the others. Guitar-wise, it is one of the busiest songs on the album. The hair metal riffing is essentially ever-present throughout, whilst Eriksson's guitar leads are utilised liberally. The opening shredded motif returns a few times in slightly different guises - whilst occasional one-off leads are thrown in elsewhere in the absence of a big synth presence this time. There are a couple of big guitar solos, too, and the song is a much more high-octane affair with great guitar playing and another strong chorus. Bad Girl is somewhat similar, with a much more driving guitar presence from the off - although the synths also return in a more prominent fashion. The main guitar riff is nicely accented with some synth stabs in a pleasing manner - whilst as the song progresses the keyboards grow in stature, especially as the chorus is approached. Vocal-wise, the song is perhaps a bit less interesting than some of the others, though. The verses are fine, with smooth melodies that work nicely against the slightly crunchier guitar tones - but the chorus is quite repetitive. It feels like Rexon ran out of lyric ideas here somewhat - and the overall melodies are less hooky, too. It is not a bad song overall, but it is certainly one of the weaker moments on the album.
Street Survivor has a somewhat more organic feel guitar-wise - with slightly bluesier overtones in some of the riffing, despite the presence of plenty of sparkling synths. The main riff sounds like it could have come from a Brian Howe-era Bad Company album, with its mix of bluesy feel and 1980s sheen. It just has a much more 1970s-esque riffing pattern overall, which harks back to bands like Bad Company, but it is paired with the synths and gated drums of the 1980s. As is often the case, too, the guitars are not that prominent during the verses, with the bass and synths doing much of the heavy lifting whilst that big gated snare sound booms out of the speakers. The chorus feels bigger, with layers of Def Leppard-esque harmony vocals and more of a guitar presence - and the chorus also retains the smoothness of the rest of the song, which is a bit different to many of the other tracks here which see the chorus go big and bold. The approach works well, though, and the song is a late album highlight in my opinion. Too Dangerous ups the pace again, and the song is one of the more energetic pieces here. A shortened version of the chorus kicks things off, before Rexon plays some of the main vocal melodies that raise their heads later on the guitar. This lengthy guitar intro is quite different to anything else on the album, as he essentially goes through the whole chorus instrumentally before the first verse kicks in - but the approach works quite well. Given the song's slightly pacier feel, this is another one that sees Kane sing in a slightly grittier manner. She does not deploy that side of her voice too often, but it is effective when she does - and the chorus here feels a little heavier than it would do otherwise. Kane is no Bonnie Tyler, but there is certainly more grit here than there usually is - and when she pairs it with some higher-pitched vocals the chorus shines quite a bit. This is one of the few songs here which Eriksson does not play on, and Rexon shows instead that he is a capable guitarist. His solo is melodic, but it is not as furious as Eriksson's efforts - and given the song's energy perhaps something faster-paced would have worked a little better. Given the melodic guitar opening, though, this solo still works nicely. The album then comes to a close with another hard rocking track in Bodyrock - a snappy, guitar-driven piece with some of the album's most overt and in-your-face synth stabs. Those who dislike big 1980s keyboards will struggle with this one, but that sound generally works for me - and the chorus here is one of the hookiest on the album for me thanks to a combination of the huge synths and more big vocal harmonies. By this point on the album, the core sound is very much apparent and there is nothing in the closing number that does anything different - but the crunch of the guitars and the parp of the keyboards are very pleasing for an AOR lover; plus there is plenty of energy that is whipped up here thanks to driving drums and an urgent vocal. The song ends the album on a high - but in truth there is little here that lets the side down. Even the weaker moments are still enjoyable enough - and nothing here is long enough to outstay its welcome. Both of Kane's previous albums were very good, but they were longer than this one and both featured a few songs which I was less keen on. There is only one here that I would say is obviously weaker than the rest - and the shorter overall length just makes this a much more digestible album. The songs are easy to sing along with and the guitar work feels better this time around - and Kane has certainly furthered her cause of being of the 21st Century's strongest melodic rock acts with Reckless.
The album was released on 27th March 2026 via Frontiers Records. Below is Kane's promotional video for Reckless.
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