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<\/a>The sophomore album from Derby glam rockers The Struts has been a long time coming. It\u2019s 4 years since their debut \u2018Everybody Wants\u2019 hit the shelves and the last few years has seen the band come a long way. They took the sharp move of relocating to the US in 2015 and have toured hard there ever since, building a fan base opening for the likes of Gn\u2019R, The Stones, The Who and then touring with The Foo Fighters, winning over a hoard of new, young fans along the way.<\/p>\nWith the imminent release of the Queen biopic \u2018Bohemian Rhapsody\u2019, it seems the perfect time to release an album that draws on the flamboyancy, the theatrics and the drama of that classic band. Love em or loathe em, The Struts are a band full of ambition, emotion and killer choruses that cannot be ignored.<\/p>\n
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First up, it appears someone had the bright idea to bookend the album with two versions of \u2018Body Talks\u2019 which seems slightly odd, especially as the more popular version with Kesha on vocals is tagged on at the end, yet the epic \u2018Ashes (part 2)\u2019 seems like a more natural album closer. Why not just go all out and put the Kesha version as the album opener and bin the original version? They are pretty similar anyway and the two singers voices work well together. Don\u2019t just slip it on the end hoping hardcore Struts fans won\u2019t notice, but Kesha fans will be drawn in by its inclusion. Embrace the pop collaboration record company bigwigs, you normally do!<\/p>\n
\u201cHey you, don\u2019t you know who I think I am?\u2019 Shouts singer Luke Spiller in the opening line of recent single \u2018Primadonna Like Me\u2019. You want your rock \u2018n\u2019 roll stars confident and cocksure, with attitude to match? Spiller has it all in spades. It rides on an overly familiar Stones riff that has been used more times than I\u2019ve had hot dinners, but if Primal Scream and The Dandy Warhols can get away with it, then why not The Struts too? It\u2019s a proper glam stomper that struts (sorry) like all big hits should. Delivered from the crotch, Spiller\u2019s trademark rolling of the r\u2019s, and the \u201cdo ya wanna\u201d refrain make it a winner, a song that has \u2018big hit\u2019 stamped all over it.<\/p>\n
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Describing The Struts without referencing Queen is like eating a doughnut without licking your lips, nigh on impossible to do! Yet they don\u2019t actually sound like a carbon copy, it\u2019s more in the vocals and the delivery, rather than the songwriting. I mean, the falsetto vocals and glam stomp of \u2018In Love with a Camera\u2019 puts them somewhere between The Darkness and Foxy Shazam which ain\u2019t a bad place to be. But the likes of \u2018Fire (part 1)\u2019 and \u2018Tatler Magazine\u2019 are as Queen as you can get. The former, produced by Butch Walker, builds to an epic, euphoric chorus, accentuated with layers of vocal harmonies. The latter contains all the pomp and circumstance you would expect from a band that cites Queen as a major influence and a band who want fame, fortune and the whole shebang.<\/p>\n
Obligatory ballad \u2018Somebody New\u2019 is designed to make the girls swoon and shed a tear. Ironically, it was written by the singer while he was taking a dump! Not so much lighters in the air, as Febreeze methinks, I could live without this tune, to be honest.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere, and in complete contrast, they take a chance and get all \u2018Hot Space\u2019 on \u2018Who I Am\u2019 and they actually pull it off in effortless fashion. The 70\u2019s Rod Stewart meets Scissor Sisters pumping disco vibes are perfect for Spiller\u2019s Freddie-esque delivery. It\u2019s an album highlight.<\/p>\n
I must admit I rolled my eyes at the balladic intro of \u2018Ashes (Part 2)\u2019, but it actually builds to an epic Queen style stomper with a classy harmonised solo to boot and even a nod to The Who as it reaches its climax. As I said earlier, it feels like the natural album closer.<\/p>\n
\u2018Young & Dangerous\u2019 is an album that\u2019s rich in rock \u2018n\u2019 roll nostalgia, harking back to a time when rock music WAS pop music. Yet, it has a glossy, contemporary feel. Their glam-tinged, pop rock anthems resonate with the youth of today and now they have made waves in the US, I\u2019m sure they will set their sights on the UK and the rest of the world.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a lot of talk recently about where all the rock stars are, where are the new GnR, the AC\/DC for the next generation, where are the future stadium headliners? Well, like them or not The Struts are leading the pack as contenders, they are the poster boys for a new generation of rock music lovers who need larger than life characters to look up to. And Luke Spiller is a man who was born to do this, will you deny him his place amongst the stars?<\/p>\n