lambchops's Full Review: Must Be Destroyed [PA] by The Wildhearts
Formed in 1989, the Wildhearts have been a relatively prolific band. The British hard rockers were loud, brash, and regarded as genuinely talented. The band suffered from much inner turmoil (spurred on by lead singer Ginger’s mood swings and outbursts) and the lineup changed multiple times. Still they kept on plugging along and in early 2001 Ginger reunited with the classic Wildhearts lineup to record new material.
I wouldn’t say that the Wildhearts are really creative. They also aren’t particularly inspired. There is however one thing they do very well, and that thing is rock n’ roll. They don’t really seem to care about what the current trends are. They unabashedly blend thick heavy metal ala Metallica with the pop yumminess of Cheap Trick into one concise hook-laden rock package. They are like the Darkness without the cheek and cheese. The Wildhearts are an energetic mostly entertaining outfit based solely on my experience with their apparently underwhelming 2003 album The Wildhearts Must be Destroyed.
This is actually the first album since the band reformed with their post popular lineup of Ginger (vocals, guitar) and most notably the beloved guitarist CJ Jagdhar. This is the duo that catapulted the Wildhearts to their highest level of fame during the mid-1990s. One would hope and maybe even expect such a lauded pair would be able to jump back in and at make at least partially compelling music. That said, The Wildhearts Must be Destroyed is good background filler and only occasionally requires my attention. I appreciate the traditional British rock n’ roll the band puts together but I still can’t help but think that there is a certain creative spark missing. This is the problem that in the end stops the Wildhearts from achieving their intended goal. They have rendered themselves irrelevant in their own industry and possibly even to fans.
The first thing I noticed about the Wildhearts was Ginger. His voice is refreshing, boyish, and smooth. It is in major contrast to the bombastic drums and droning electric guitars. This unusual mix catches my attention, however there is little about Must Be Destroyed that keeps me listening. The eleven tracks sound great and are nicely produced…at least superficially. The real problem with this album is that it lacks direction. The songs don’t go anywhere, the arrangements aren’t particularly motivational, and the performances don’t sparkle. For a band that is well known for their Cheap Trick-like hooks, this album is tragically devoid of character.
Moments on Someone That Won’t Let Me Go, One Love, One Life, One Girl, and So Into You remind me that the Wildhearts are capable of much more. Someone That Won’t Let Me Go is immediately wonderful with chunky guitars, Ginger’s boyish vocals, and even more importantly an incredibly and infectiously entertaining melody. This is the kind of song you can’t help but enjoy with its unlikely combination of Matthew Sweet and metal. This same union is what makes One Love, One Life, One Girl easily one of the best (if not the best) of this album. Despite the fact that it is toned down and conspicuously absent of noise, it is easily the most interesting of all songs on this album.
The third and final song I like So Into You which focuses mostly on their mainstream rock abilities. It works nicely and fits into the overall scheme of what the Wildhearts are about. Unfortunately, it is also the last time I really feel the Wildhearts. By and large, the music here blends together. The songs lack identity and cohesion. I want to love everything about this album but I cannot. It functions nicely as background noise but because of unremarkable songs like Out from the Inside, Vanilla Radio and album opener Nexus Icon (among others) the thinking and feeling parts of my brain are lulled to sleep by monotony.
Energy, melody, and good songwriting are the hallmarks of the Wildhearts. Unfortunately on this album these things are all but absent. There are a few flashes of what makes the band interesting, but I feel let down by the whole package. I can’t speak to the band’s relevance in music and I can’t say whether a bunch of people like them, but what I can say is that when all the pieces come together and form a full picture I am impressed. Otherwise, the Wildhearts are just “blah.”
Rating: 2/5 stars
Track Listing
01. Nexus Icon
02. Only Love
03. Someone That Won’t Let Me Go
04. Vanilla Radio
05. One Love, One Life, One Girl
06. Get Your Groove On
07. So into You
08. There’s Only One Hell
09. It’s All Up to Me
10. Out From the Inside
11. Top of the World
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