I dig The Wildhearts. I’m a fan, sort of, but I also think they have a tendency to be quite uneven. I really dig albums like PHUQ (1995), Fishing For Luckies (1996), The Wildhearts (2017) and their last album Renaissance Men (2029) is in my opinion their finest effort to date, a brilliant album. Then there are records like The Wildhearts Must be Destroyed (2003) and Chutzpah (2009) that are very up and down. The rest of them – Earth Vs The Wildhearts (1993), Endless, Nameless (2007) and the covers album Stop Us If You’ve Heard This One Before Vol 1 (2008) are all albums I don’t have all that much love for at all. Now, almost two years after the release of their last album they’re back with a new one and since I loved the last one plus the fact that I find guitarist/singer Ginger Wildheart a damn pop-genius when he puts his mind to it, I have some great expectations for this one.
The opening title-track bursts loose hard and punchy with some rough edges and sharp riffing. It’s slightly punk but also metal-fueled with a heavy rhythm but on top comes the contagious pop-melodies Ginger is well-known to write, the ones that sticks like glue and brings a smile on your face all while you go bananas headbanging. Yeah, this is damn good. The leading single “Remember These Days” comes along crunchy, slamming and in-your-face on a straight-forward note. With striking melodies, crunchy riffage, a pop-punk meets Metal structure, lots of attitude and a direct and catchy chorus the song goes for the win. Add some slower and held-back parts to the mix that brings up the contrasts, something that actually betters the song. Great stuff.
Like an elephant with both ADHD and a gun-shot, “Splitter” fires away furiously and ballsy on a fast tempo. It’s aggressive and straight ahead, firing on all cylinders, trying its best to go straight for the KO. Unfortunately, the song is way too unmelodic for me and it lacks the sharp and memorable melodies I want from these guys. It’s ok but a throwaway in my world. “Institutional Submission” continues the fast tempo and slamming and rough punkiness of the previous track and it too comes across as a bit unstructured. But it also holds a slower and very heavy breakdown and what’s better, there are melodic parts that brings on both structure and catchiness which makes part of the song brilliant and other parts not so brilliant. A good song, at the end of the day.
Latest single “Sleepaway” is very much a classic Wildhearts stomper with the grit and punky attitude and of course the delicate Ginger-pop melodies everywhere with hooks flying around from left to right. To give it a nice twist there’s also a mild Celtic touch inserted. Should be a hit, if you ask me. Killer stuff. The hard, aggressive and ballsy yet pop-hooky “You Do You” comes with an edgy punch and a rhythm strong enough to beat you blind. “Everybody is an expert these days”, sneers Ginger – a nod to all the internet know-it-all’s out there. It’s a 2 minutes 42 punch-out with a chorus that will leave you humming for days. Good one.
“Sort Your Fucking Shit Out” is a pretty plain, straight-out rocker with a steady, bouncy beat and an edgy outlook. The title makes it sound more aggressive than it actually is. Sure, it’s heavy and raw but the verses holds some more held-back vocal-melodies and the big, fat chorus goes into catchy pop-punk-hard rock with a direct approach. I like. “Directions” throws out some razor-sharp riffage and a menacing rhythm, it’s upbeat, raw, heavy and chuggy on a straight-ahead note. Slightly metal-fused and headbang-friendly the song also brings another smashing chorus with a nice hit-feel over it. Good one.
“A Physical Exorcism” is a raging bull of a song where a lot of anger comes out screaming. It’s rough. raw, aggressive and punky with a shitload of attitude. Even though the chorus brings on a slight hook, it feels like the song is built more on aggression and anger than on big melodies. It might be a real discharge live but on record, it gets lost. Closing track “My Head Wants Me Dead” is more nuanced and sensed with a memorable main-melody and a bit more held-back. That said, the song isn’t without grit at all and it’s rhythmically bouncy and punchy. It also holds some slower and darker passages that brings on more aggression. The chorus might not be as pop-catchy as usual but it still manages to stick after just one spin. Good one.
This is good album, without a doubt but it really can’t hold a candle to its predecessor. While we get a nice chunk of Ginger’s masterful pop-melodies too many of the songs here are not memorable enough – some catchy songs really could be catchier. The album comes across as darker and much more rowdy which suits the lyrics well. The lyrics are angry and dark and at times the album feels a personal cleansing for Ginger, an album of his own catharsis and that aggressive and hard numbers was the way to get those thoughts across properly. So yes, it’s a good album and it do grow on me but at the same time I had hoped for more.
6/10
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Tracklist:
1. 21st Century Love Songs
2. Remember These Days
3. Splitter
4. Institutional Submission
5. Sleepaway
6. You Do You
7. Sort Your Fucking Shit Out
8. Directions
9. A Physical Exorcism
10. My Head Wants Me Dead
CD & Festival reviews 