Big hair, big vocals, big solos and what do we get… the hybrid spawn of our Finnish allies Reckless Love and their 2011 second studio album Animal Attraction. The stakes have been raised and there’s much more to play for, but in a nutshell this album hasn’t been their downfall!
Speaking of reckless, to rip open the album we get the testosterone driven hit Animal Attraction. To put it bluntly, it’s one of those Warrant’s Cherry Pie moments; the song won’t just get famous, it will get notorious! It’s a ‘oh yeah I know that song’ hit and from start to finish it's ‘hair’ at its best! It’s one of the best songs of the album by far! Let’s just say, if you want a song rife with character, just press play!
Following on from a song like Animal Attraction is damn hard to do. Cannons can have a tendency to turn into a wilted schoolboy catapult, which only has wet paper balls left to fire! However, Speedin’ does in no way shape or form kill the album off. It does not have the skip to the third song syndrome. To be frank the fingertip eroding guitar riffs from Pepe Reckless say it all! Since Herman’s vocals have turned into the equivalent of a rock and roll choir boy, I reckon they’ve done a fine job at keeping the ball rolling smoothly! It’s one of the ‘lighter’ songs on the album but hey, it’s nothing to complain about!
Born to Break Your Heart is where the ‘melodic section of the album’ kicks in. It’s not the most ‘punchy’ on the album and does take a couple of chews to be able to swallow easily. It simply starts the next chapter of the album.
Flick to track five and we get session two of their melodic section. Fantasy makes me wonder whether it is the same band. It’s like they’ve been scalped! They’ve stripped themselves of every ounce of the glam image that we are used to and replaced it with a heartfelt and dare I say it, beautiful hit. But seriously, is there anything wrong with giving an album a variation? They’ve still managed to flex their musical muscles well regardless!
Come on track eight! Fight is what it’s all about! With its frisky intro it’s ‘hail to the metal ’time! And oh my God, did I mention the solo? It’s one of those ‘I want to learn to play guitar’ situations, followed by your rock star pose, and oh yes, the noise complaints! It kicks dirt in the other songs’ eyes and is the clear dominator of the album! It’s Reckless Love at their best!
Following on from the most territorial song of the album and doing a good job of it can sometimes just be a joke. So yes, Switchblade Babe had a point to prove. Basically it has earned its place on the album. It’s not a ‘filler’, it’s just showing off!’
What can we say about Young ‘n’ Crazy? They’ve done it again; given us a song that leaves a mouth-watering after taste of which everyone will gel to at some point! I must admit, it’s a perfect final salute to the album! Absolute encore song!
Animal Attraction is an exploitation of how much the band has matured since their debut. They’ve excavated a whole new level of talent to produce a damn good album! The variety is head scratching. They’ve still got the hair, the glam and ‘trousers tighter than cling film’, but would we change it? Listen to the album and your answer will probably be no!
by Kathryn Longbottom
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animal attraction
