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Review: 'Wildhearts, The'
'Renaissance Men'   

-  Label: 'Graphite Records'
-  Genre: 'Rock' -  Release Date: '3.5.19.'-  Catalogue No: 'GRAPHAR33'

Our Rating:
The Wildhearts are back with the band's first new album in 10 years it's also the first new album by the band's classic line-up of Ginger, CJ, Danny and Rich in quite a bit longer than that. An event so hotly anticipated by the bands fans that the album is already in in the top ten of the Uk album charts. They have survived everything life has thrown at them and are back more or less intact now that Danny has been re-built with a bionic leg to deliver a totally relevant album that is socially aware and deals with the state of the world and is unafraid to wear it's heart on its sleeve while rocking like the demented bastards they've always been.

From the get go it's clear they haven't messed with the bands formula and Dislocated sounds pretty much like a classic The Wildhearts song with as usual slightly odd lyrics and a great big swaggering sing along chorus that sounds like it's ready to be sung along to by the bands hoard's of loving fans as they feel as Dislocated from the world as Ginger and the band do, yes you'll want to bang your head along to it as the lyrics suggest you do as the riff builds and the guitars get more intense.

Let 'Em Go sounds like a hit apart from the swearing, but really this is destined to be chanted along to live by everyone as they tell us all to get rid of all the wankers in our lives and to just get on with having a great life as the song soars and they tell us what's wrong before making us all chant along with them once more it has so much swagger it's irresistible especially with frank Turner joining in on the backing vocals to make them feel like a real gang singing them.

The title track Renaissance Men has Ginger telling us he's gonna make us sing as they are the Renaissance Men and let's face it if you've ever seen the band live you'll know singing along is almost mandatory at the bands gigs. So get ready to throw your fists in the air and get down to this.

Fine Art Of Deception is Ginger describing how he's going to leave a lover he's done with but unlike Paul Simon he doesn't want to list 50 ways he's got for leaving, this if far more direct and honest and punctuated with CJ and his raging guitars and Rich battering his drums in fine style and with plenty of swagger as they live that lie and get ready to hit the door and get the hell out of there.

Diagnosis opens like it's going to be a monster metal tune and doesn't disappoint in a Motorhead with a social conscience as a social drama unfolds that sounds like it comes from Gingers dealing with the health service while trying to get help for his own Depression and suicidal feelings as he sings you are not your Diagnosis and you're not an animal this is very powerful and aimed at the once size fits all pigeon holing of patients a real tour de force of a song.

My Kinda Movie ramps up the urgency and the bands need for things to be more real and not like in a movie over another crushing rifftastic song while reminiscing about the years when they'd spend all the money they had on crack and films on vhs.
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Little Flower is a classic Wildhearts song of betrayal and pain and all sorts of other stuff over a rock solid riff and Danny's bionic bass as everyone wants to chant My Little Flower and the rest of the chorus as she's still by their side.

Emergency (Fentanyl Babylon) makes plain how they think we are in the middle of an emergency and that that we need the power of a good stomping rock song to save us from the madness of the drug plague and the companies pushing the poison onto anyone they can. This is a great social issues rock song.

My Side Of The Bed has a good glam stomp of an intro before Ginger starts singing about a relationship that's falling to pieces or is it more about the crumbling world we know live in and lots of the problems we know have in places it's frantic and angry sounding as it needs to be with at times Gingers vocals sounding like he's channeling Chris Difford Up The Junction before he starts growling and singing about our current malaise.

Pilo Erection that closes the album seems to be an anthem to a pumped up preening guy who just has to swagger around with his erection that he wants you to know all about but this isn't some cock rock anthem it has far more going on than that as well as a great swaggering chorus to sing along to as you'd expect.

If you've ever liked The Wildhearts this album will live up to expectations for it a real great swaggering comeback find out more at https://www.musicglue.com/thewildhearts/ where you can get the album on Vinyl, cd or Cassette.

  author: simonovitch

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