The Struts
Strange Days
Universal Music
Critically acclaimed and fan favourites The Struts have returned with their latest album. Written and recorded with the band couch crashing at producer Jon Levineβs home studio during the pandemic, the appropriately-titled Strange Days follows their strong 2018 sophomore album, Young & Dangerous, and features a range of guest appearances from the likes of Albert Hammond Jr. (The Strokes), Joe Elliot and Phil Collen (Def Leppard), and, most excitedly, Tom Morello (Rage Against The Machine, Audioslave).
The album opens with the title track, the acoustically-driven soft rock ballad featuring Robbie Williams, which seems to fall flat at both setting the tone and kicking off the album. Beyond the relevance of the song, there really isnβt that much to the single. Even with the following pair of Rolling Stones-inspired rockers βAll Dressed Up (With Nowhere To Go)β and βDo You Love Meβ, the album failed to spark a grand sense of untamed excitement often associated with the glamorous image of The Struts. Thereβs nothing wrong with these three songs β the guitars crunch rhythmically like Keith Richards in β71 and the vocals are reminiscent of Freddie Mercury β but it feels compressed and polished, even more so than most modern rock records.
It does get better, however. βI Hate How Much I Want Youβ, featuring βKing Of The Leppardsβ Joe Elliot and Phil Collen, is an absolute mammoth of an β80s rock banger that simply kicks ass. The same can also be said for βWild Childβ which features Morello on a moody, gritty, atmospheric, and modern track driven by a fat riff and slick lead lines. Throughout the 10 tracks, βBurn It Downβ and βCanβt Sleepβ bring back a larger than life classic rock vibe, while the album closer, βAm I Talking To The Champagne (Or Talking To You)β delivers late β70s club tone nostalgic for The Stones.
Despite being signed to a major label, The Struts still have a vibe about them; theyβre kings of the underground wave of rock βnβ roll. Strange Days, however, feels like theyβre trying just a touch too hard to break into the mainstream. As a result, what was once known as a dangerous band has had many of their rough edges polished and smoothed out in a quest for hit singles on the radio, in place of looking to continue making killer hard rock music nostalgic for some of the greatest bands from the β70s and β80s. That said there is still plenty of strong material on Strange Days; had this been an EP rather than an album, it even could have even been incredible. The Struts are a great band, however Strange Days feels like a departure from their fans expectations in effort to win the validation of a different audience. Hopefully, next time will see a return to their unique blend of massive, gritty, and glamorous rock βnβ roll.
ArtistΒ Links
SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: THE STRUTS – STRANGE DAYS
Gerrod Harris