Wildhearts, The [Digipak] - Wildhearts (The)

For a band that have been going for nearly twenty years, The Wildhearts have never really managed to gain the recognition that they truly deserve. The band have split up and got back together many times and been through more than their fair share of drug and alcohol related problems with style.

However, after the release of their live album, The Wildhearts Strike Back, and revealing that they would never take to the stage again it ...
...Incredible songwriter and frontman, Ginger, has announced that the band are now free and clean of their problems and are fresher and more revived than ever before, which is clearly indicated by their 2007 self titled album.

The album kicks off in true Wildhearts style with Rooting For The Bad Guy, an extremely long track made up of awesomely original and headbangingly powerful melodic guitar riffs and really takes you on a new fresh ... more

For a band that have been going for nearly twenty years, The Wildhearts have never really managed to gain the recognition that they truly deserve. The band have split up and got back together many times and been through more than their fair share of drug and alcohol related problems with style.

However, after the release of their live album, The Wildhearts Strike Back, and revealing that they would never take to the stage again it looks like they've decided to give it one last shot! Incredible songwriter and frontman, Ginger, has announced that the band are now free and clean of their problems and are fresher and more revived than ever before, which is clearly indicated by their 2007 self titled album.

The album kicks off in true Wildhearts style with Rooting For The Bad Guy, an extremely long track made up of awesomely original and headbangingly powerful melodic guitar riffs and really takes you on a new fresh sounding journey into the depths of Ginger's imagination. Following up to this, The Sweetest Song, despite it's title, has to be the heaviest and most offensive, sleazy rock song that I have ever heard! It's my favourite on the album.

The Revolution Will Be Televised moves on to a catchier political statement with lyrics to be admired and to be jealous of, man, I even wish I'd written the song myself! Remaining on a political concept, The New Flesh details their views on war and religion and contains lyrics which just seem to touch you deep down in your soul somewhere, it almost makes you cry!

Things are toned down a little after that for Slaughtered Authors, a light hearted but entertaining melodic song made up of catchy tuneful guitar riffs and light vocals. The Hard Way then brings things back to the powerful attitude-ridden diesel-fuelled apathy of classic Wildhearts before moving into the only other calm track on the album, Inner City Overture, which could be regarded as somewhat of an anthem.

This is followed by Bi-Polar Baby, a track with a great title and if you haven't already guessed is about being in a bad relationship, presumably with someone who has constant mood swings. This track is made up of some fantastic heavy, but catchy, guitar riffs and is followed by She's All That, which in my opinion is probably the only bad track on the album.

To finish things off, the boys end with Destroy All Monsters. Just in case the rest of the album wasn't quite heavy enough for you they have crammed some absolutely killer guitar riffs and lead guitar twanging into this track all compressed into one big ball of aggression and vocals that jump out of the speakers and make you want to run away!

I have always been a Wildhearts fan ever since they started their career in 1989 but I must admit that this is the finest album that they have ever produced. It certainly does have a fresh, raw new sound and one which is to be admired by rock fans all over the world. Nearly every track on this album is a classic. Highly recommended. 

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