THE STRUTS – Young & Dangerous (2018)
Derby, UK rocking glamsters THE STRUTS are releasing their second full-length album “Young & Dangerous” on October 26, 2018, full of swagger and catchy hooks bringing back the sweet and dirty spirit of glam to modern rock & roll.
With their glitzy-yet-scrappy aesthetic – not to mention frontman Luke Spiller’s snarling vocals – The Struts might seem to have stepped straight out of the ‘70s / early ’80s yet with a potent updated sound.
Imagine a Slade-crazed 2000’s version fronted by a man who delivers each and every “R” with a brazen alveolar trill in a voice that’s an amalgam of Freddie Mercury, Dee Snider, and New York Dolls’ David Johansen, “Young & Dangerous” is not a subtle album.
It’s all pomp, circumstance, bluster, and nasty, sugary goodness; an 13-track set of hook-laden, radio-ready party songs that embrace both sleaze and glam.
Luke Spiller is a born frontman. He’s got the Jagger swagger, but where Mick’s antics invoked the American south, Spiller is a purely East Midlands creation, and like The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins, his flamboyant English delivery will likely be the barometer listeners use to gauge the duration of their stay.
The songs themselves are largely formulaic, but delivered with such gusto that it’s easy to forgive the chicanery behind them.
Bawdy, ballsy, silly, and sweet, standouts like “Body Talks” (with some The Sweet on it), the catchy as Hell “Primadonna Like Me”, the sexy “Bulletproof Baby”, or the hard hitting guitar driven “Fire” will likely appeal to a wide range of classic rock / rock&pop enthusiasts.
The band try something different with “Who Am I?”, some kind of heavy-funk disco-heavy with good results, and in ‘Body Talks (feat. Kesha)’ they do retro glam but modern, same with semi-ballad “Somebody New”, a clever mix of ’80s pop but with an eye put in the 2018 charts.
There’s an inevitable feel of Queen in “Tatler Magazine” (love it), bringing to my mind Space Elevator (the band) yet with a Seventies feel.
These four small-city boys have managed to create a thirteen track whirlwind, each song with more energy and personality than many established acts doing this type of retro things.
What I like about The Struts and “Young & Dangerous” is the amalgam of the old with the new, never sounding outdated but at the same time not too modern, keeping things classic rock with authenticity.
Highly Recommended
01 – Body Talks
02 – Primadonna Like Me
03 – In Love With A Camera
04 – Bulletproof Baby
05 – Who Am I?
06 – People
07 – Fire (Part 1)
08 – Somebody New
09 – Tatler Magazine
10 – I Do It So Well
11 – Freak Like You
12 – Ashes (Part 2)
13 – Body Talks (Feat. Kesha)
Luke Spiller – Lead Vocals
Addo Slack – Guitar and Vocals
Jed Elliott – Bass and Vocals
Gethin Davies – Drums
PRE ORDER:
www.amazon.co.uk/TBC/dp/B07GW7NXFH
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