For the best part of two decades The Wildhearts have been almost the stereotype of the rock and roll life style. From the earliest days where they exploded onto the consciousness of the music world with albums and singles that barged their way unapologetically into the mainstream charts, the band have seen more ups and downs then a manic depressive on a bungee jump. Members have come, gone, and come again. Record labels have been battled, sued, vilified and praised. Drink and drugs have soaked the ever changing line up, and the band has said more farewells then Kiss. Compared to The Wildhearts, Spinal Tap looks like St. Winifred’s School Choir (if you’re reading this, you have access to the internet so look them up!).
The one consistency throughout, beyond the swirling locks of front man Ginger, has been their sheer exuberance on stage, a presence that their albums can barely contain. Despite the tales of pharmaceutical excesses and internal strife, show after show was characterized by an energy that had the maelstrom of pummeling guitars, bass, drums and group vocals on the stage whipping up audiences into their own frenzy.
With 2007’s Eponymous release, The Wildhearts have been playing revitalized shows, and building on this is the superlative latest offering, Chutzpah! From the very first note of ‘The Jackson Whites’ (a group of isolated native Americans, not the king of pop’s children), with its chugging guitars and hook laden chorus, there is no doubt that this is not a cash in on an upcoming 20th anniversary, but a powerful new release from a vital and evolving band. ‘Plastic Jebus’ adds an almost industrial pound to the riffs of the verses, samples and loops adding a new dimension to the band’s normal sound.
The variety of sounds in this one album, from the plaintive vocals of ‘The Only One’, guaranteed to draw in a generation of Green Day fans, to the mosh inducing metallic guitar work of ‘Tim Smith’, every track screams of quality. Each member plays off the other, playing so tightly that you could believe this was the original line up playing together for the umpteenth time, rather then the latest incarnation. Album closer and title track ‘Chutzpah’, a Yiddish word for impudence and audacity shows that quality by the bucketful, opening with Vocoder distorted vocals that promise electro-pop, before blasting into hardcore shouted vocals, punctuated by gentler pop-punk choruses and thrashing guitars, before playing out in a gentle, Beatles like fade. Like the album, it’s a track of contrasts, and skill.
The Wildhearts are playing up and down the country soon; seek them out, before they come looking for you!
http://www.thewildhearts.com
http://www.myspace.com/thewildhearts
