The Wildhearts - 'The Satanic Rites of The Wildhearts' Album Review

Tracklist:

1. Eventually

2. Scared of Glass

3. Troubadour Moon

4. Fire In The Cheap Seats

5. Kunce

6. Maintain Radio Silence

7. Blue Moon Over Brinkburn

8. Hurt People Hurt People

9. I'll Be Your Monster

10. Failure Is The Mother Of Success

Let's get it out of the way first, can this version of The Wildhearts genuinely be called The Wildhearts?

I'll admit, I never expected to see or hear from the band again after the messy and public breakup they had after their last album and tour, which effectively killed any prospect of them doing anything again. Sometimes friction can help fuel the creative process, other times it just adds fuel to the fire and lets it burn with a greater intensity. None of the members seemed to care enough anymore to piss on the flames to put them out.

Ginger Wildheart, the band's frontman and lead songwriter, had seemingly given up the ghost, especially after effectively being reduced to a paid employee in the past few months of the last run. But, there's something in that man that is The Wildhearts, it’s in his DNA. I know others will say “but what about......?” That's cool, and CJ, Danny and Richie have all added a lot to the band in the past few years, but Ginger has always been the nucleus of the band and that shows in this collection of songs. “The Satanic Rites of The Wildhearts” is jonesing for The Wildhearts; all he had to do is assemble a crew to help resurrect the beast that would not stay dead and buried.

Opening track Eventually sounds like it has stepped straight out of a previous album session. It's opening riff twists and turns as fast as it can. Ginger’s vocals are raw and are coming straight from his gut. “My eyes have given up, my sense of sane is not enough" comes straight from a man who's been there and done it. As usual with Wildhearts songs different sections sound like they're from other songs, playing around with melodies, counter melodies and different rhythms. “Eventually it's going to break your heart" rings out the chorus while bouncing around your head.

The sound of low slung guitars kick starts Scared of Glass. There's a real classic glam flavour to the song with it's playing and production (hello Silver Ginger 5, we've missed you!). Ginger’s vocals sound great and natural. The past few years have seen him singing with his accent being more and more prominent, and it adds a real warmth to the song.

Troubadour Moon is the album’s second single (if you look at it in the traditional view of album releases) and it's the tale of the workhorse songwriter, the people out there with hopes of writing that song that will just give them that pop into the big time. It's home to a big bastard of a chorus and a damn fine Thin Lizzy-esque guitar solo.

The past few albums have seen Ginger write songs that tackle mental health as subject matter (Diagnosis and Sort Your Fucking Shit Out), and that is carried on with Fire In Cheap Seats. The guitars literally crush here on the verses while still being a melodic as possible. It puts Ginger’s love of Cardiacs front and centre, and it certainly helps having Jon Poole, a former member of Tim Smith's collective, return to The Wildhearts fold. His bass playing adds a certain chaos while managing to be as tight as a very tight thing.

Kunce (say it aloud, but not in the earshot of any old ladies nearby) lists the type of people who really get “in the way”. There's some subtle tongue-in-cheek lyrical jabs here. In some alternative universe it'll be absolutely huge, begging a massive crowd sing-a-long when played live.

Maintain Radio Silence transitions effortlessly between smooth and jagged sounds while Blue Moon Over Brinkburn takes the best bits of Mr Lydon and leaves the rest behind (and there's plenty to be left) over another Cardiacs infused tune.

Hurt People Hurt People is possibly my favourite track on the album. It's Ginger being direct and talking about people trying to redeem themselves, including himself, while addressing the listener personally. It's also the song that reminds me now of his solo work away from the band, and body of material that's vast and worth exploring for anyone who hasn't before. Here, he's putting himself front and centre with a lyric and vocal that's both confessional and reassuring.

The mood is picked back up with I'll Be Your Monster, a track that's powered along with a Bowie/Ziggy Stardust sounding saxophone. It's a rocker in glam clothing, all swing, strut and sexy swagger with the song’s title sneered as a chorus hook.

The album’s closer Failure Is The Mother Of Success left me feeling a little cold when I first heard it as a single but here it slots in perfectly. It twists around like an angry man wringing his fingers to stop himself from lashing out, the guitars dissonant and percussive before dropping into a more melodic instrumental break. The song has more schizophonic riffs knitted into it’s fibre that other bands would spread across an entire album. Lyrically, again, it features more positivity and reassurance that life is better when you're marching to the beat of your own drum, that things going wrong are the building blocks for creating something better (“At any age you can start again/Life is a page and you are the pen/Be the movie that you wanna see/Be the book that you wanna read"). It's a fitting closer to this wee chapter of The Wildhearts story.

New Wildheart Ben Marsden on guitar is a natural foil to Ginger, both playing off each other riff and melody wise. Previously a guitar hero-for-hire, Marsden has cut his teeth playing in several bands (to list them all would probably triple the length of the review), and his natural charm and approach has gotten the deal of approval from fans, as he often took part in Ginger’s recent tours celebrating The Wildhearts music. These tours also featured pianist and keyboard player Carol Hodge, whose playing and backing vocals add some nice sweetness to guitar heavy sonic stew.

“The Satanic Rites of The Wildhearts” is a battered tale of redemption, the story of someone who's been battered and bruised by their own actions as well as from others around them. Ginger has probably burnt some bridges with this album, but that's never been something that he's been worried about in the past so why start now? If he'd released this as a solo album there are people who would have complained that he's not putting out any more Wildhearts albums. The fact he has released this as The Wildhearts will have others grumbling about it not being a proper WH line up. All these points are valid, but, fuck it, if anyone should release a Wildhearts album it should be coming from Ginger. Most of the other previous members are releasing some great music so, if this doesn't float your boat, then there's other things out there to try.

Overall, for me, the album is tighter, leaner and meaner than both “Renaissance Men” and “21st Century Love Songs”. Each song is still comprised of a cornucopia and melody, while still wearing it's punk rock heart prominently on it’s sleeve. It's raw like sushi while being packed full of flavour. Although it might not be the instant classic that was “Earth Vs......” or “P.H.U.Q.” it still carries a thorough pedigree that shouldn't be overlooked. If you do, then shame on you. “The Satanic Verses Of The Wildhearts” has exactly what you expect in spades. It probably leans more towards Ginger’s solo material at times, but that's not a bad thing when the quality is this good. There's enough riffs, hooks and melodies here to last a lifetime, feeding you different earworms on each subsequent listen.