Alter Bridge - Pawns & Kings

 "Pawns & Kings" is the 7th album by US rock band Alter Bridge.  Alter Bridge released their debut "One day remains" back in 2004, although members had very successful bands before Alter Bridges inception.  Myles fronted Mayfield four. While other 3 members Mark, Brian and Scott made up 3/4 Creed. I was never really that into either of those bands but appreciated some of the singles.  But over the last 3 or 4 years Alter Bridge have rapidly become one of my favourite bands.   They just have not written a bad album.  This is really a testament to how talented all the members of this band are.  They are next level.

And with "Pawns & Kings" they have well and truly continued this streak.  Previous album "Walk the sky" saw them shorten the songs a bit and make it a bit more of an in-your-face rock album.  "Pawns & Kings" in contrast feels a bit heavier and more complex.  Also lengthening some of the songs too.  Generally, Alter Bridge albums have 12-13 tracks. But unusually for them this sits at 10 tracks which means although some of the songs are longer; Because of the reduction in number of tracks this is actually a shorter album than usual sitting at 53 minutes.  It has to be said though, that is a decent length.

Title track "Pawns & Kings" was the first track to be released off the album which was quite surprising as it is one of the longer tracks on the album sitting at just over 6 minutes.  It is a wonderful track though and allows you to see the best of all the band members.  One strange thing I find about this track though is the position of it on the album as it is the last track.  I find this strange as it just doesn't feel like an album closer.  In fact, I would say its better as an album opener given the amazing intro. Which I think is a much better intro than the one they went for in "This is War".  Don't get me wrong it is a great song and I think the idea was to end with a strong track.  It's just I feel it would have been a more impactful opening.  This is a bit uncharacteristic because generally I feel Alter Bridge are the absolute masters of picking the right opening and closing tracks.

I wouldn't say the track positioning deteriorates the album quality though as there is plenty of top tuneage to be found on here.  "Silver Tongue" and "Holiday" are probably the biggest rock anthems of the album.  "Stay" is Mark's moment to shine vocally, which he does ever so well as usual.  Myles is obviously the main singer of Alter Bridge.  But we all know from Mark's solo project and "Water Rising" and "Forever Falling" Mark is a great vocalist too.  My favourite song on the album though, is also the longest in the form of “Fable of the silent son” which sits over 8 minutes.  The way the song transitions from one part to the next is magnificent and the solo in around 5 to 6 minutes is an absolute joy.

Overall, Alter Bridge have well and truly done it again.  An absolutely wonderful album full of rocktastic tunes.  Many bands get to their 7^th album and run out of ideas, but this band just keep knocking it out the park like a well-oiled machine.

The 1975 - Being Funny in a Foreign language

 

"Being Funny in a Foreign Language" is the 5th studio album by UK pop rockers The 1975.  Arguably one of the biggest bands to come out of the 2010s. Certainly in the UK anyway.  Although the roots of the band date back to the early 2000s but they were very much underground and in school for much of that period.  Last album "Notes of a conditional form" was heavily criticised by critics, many felt it was too long, too many tracks and Matt Healy was a bit up himself with the ambitiousness of the project.  I actually really enjoyed the album.  I wrote twice as much for that album as I normally do. There is just so much to it and yes, they did push their boundaries a bit with weird interludes and did hopscotch round some different genres.  But that is why I found it so refreshing.

"Part of the Band" was the first single to be taken from "Being Funny in a Foreign language".  This is quite a low-key track, especially for The 1975's single standards.  It is also quite unique for them. In the past they have been no stranger to a saxophone solo.  But with this track is the first track where the strings do a lot of the heavy lifting on the song. Don't worry there's still a wee saxophone jam in there too.  I think there will be many fans of the band slightly let down by the single as it is down tempo and perhaps better as an album track.  But I don't think they needn't be worried as next singles "Happiness" and "I'm in love with you" see them crank up the tempo again.  "Happiness" has that feel good, upbeat and joyous rhythm.  It's a blinder of a track. "I'm in love with you" is slightly cheesy but certainly fits with the theme of the album generally - Love.

Personally, I think the band have taken into account what the critics have been saying and channelled it into this album.  There are no instrumental tracks on this album which act as interludes or songs in their own right.  I don't feel there are any political statements, or a mixture of emotions conveyed in this album.  The album is very focused, all the songs fit together and it's the right length.  They have songs like "The 1975", "Part of the band" and "About you" which have those strings which differentiates things from their previous albums.  The changes in pace throughout the album work well.

"Oh Caroline" and "Wintering" are in my opinion two of the best tracks off the album.  I think Matt's vocals are at their best on "Oh Caroline" and "Wintering" is a nice chirpy number, thanks to an acoustic guitar and piano mixed in together.  I would say the weakest tracks are "Human Too" and "I'm in love with you".  As previously mentioned, "I'm in love with you" is a bit cheesy.  While "Human Too" just doesn't cut the grade compared to the other tracks.

Overall, this a decent album.  But in terms of where it ranks compared to the rest of their albums it is lower down.  I wasn't complaining that they were getting more ambitious, doing instrumentals, doing longer albums. I embraced it and was thankful for it.  It was one of the magical things about this band.  The masses I imagine will like this album and it has already done the job as it went to no 1 in the UK in a week where Red Hot Chili Peppers also released an album.  But as I say job done still, a good album.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Return of the Dream Canteen

 

"Return of the Dream Canteen" is the 13th studio album by Californian rock funksters the Red Hot Chili Peppers.  When I reviewed 12th album "Unlimited Love" here is what I wrote in conclusion:

 "Coming back from all his solo electronic escapades it's clear Frusciante is still one of the best guitarists around and it seems his chemistry with the rest of the band is as if he never left.  This is great to see and hear and I hope the Chilis now get in a rhythm of writing music again, so we don't have to wait 6 years for the next album."

Amazingly we have not had to wait another 6 years.  In fact, all we had to wait was 6 months!  This has to be the most unexpected album since Taylor Swift released "evermore" in 2020" which came off the back of "folklore" earlier that year.  But is this just a bunch of b-sides to "Unlimited Love"?  

Personally, I don't think so.  Being so close together I think they would have known they had too much music for one album and even a double album.  But albums are roughly 75 minutes.  Meaning if they had released both albums - combining them into a double album.  It would be far too long, and fans just would not be able to digest it.  For me, they had to release it this way.  And there is no way "Return of the Dream Canteen" is a b-sides album either.  This has many, many good tracks on it.  And sees them start off as "Unlimited love" ended.  I would say they did front load the album with all the bigger sounding tracks which would really sell the album as singles.  "Tippa my tongue", "Peace & Love", "Reach out" and "Eddie".  It really is a cracking start to the album.

"Reach out" is currently my favourite song off the album.  This one has a great rhythm to it and an impactful chorus.  "Eddie" is a tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen and what a way to pay tribute with one of the sole guitar solos on the album where Frusciante lets loose.  I say it is the only real moment on the album where John takes centre stage.  I think this shows that he'd rather work as part of the team/band and create a good song without taking centre stage.   Which those familiar with the Chilis work will know he has had a tendency to do in the past.  That's definitely not a criticism though as it is one of the reasons the Chilis have been so successful over the years.  It's no accident that arguably the Chilis best albums have come with John Frusciante on guitar.

As well as the stand-out singles on the album, it goes through many highs and lows.  And by low I don't mean bad but more the softer points on the album like "My Cigarette" which has such a chilled-out vibe with a much welcome brass section.  Then you have more up-tempo numbers such has "The drummer".  Another turning point is the lush "La la la la la la la la" which I actually had to do a double take - is that a piano I hear on a Chili's album!? surely not :-D.  The album finishes with quite a unique track which is quite impressive for a band who are not far off 40 years old.  "In the Snow" Kiedis vocals are like talking which may sound simple, but it works and makes for a fantastic end to the album.

Overall, the Chilis have done it again.  A superb album and I'm glad they realised the quality of these songs and didn't just put them on the scrap heap.  Which they could have done given the success of "Unlimited Love" where they could have toured that for a good 4 years.  Instead, they have given themselves the welcome problem of how to play the 34 songs which they have released this year live.  Let's forget they do have 11 albums worth of material out-with what they released this year.  They could only just be able to play these albums back-to-back in a live show.  But the fans will always want to classics too, so I imagine many of these tracks won't be played live.  Which is a shame but at the same time it is a good problem to have.  Now will it be 6 months till the next Chilis album?  Go on........ :-D