'Chutzpah', the latest release from The Wildhearts left me feeling like I had been hit with a great rock and roll punch in the jaw, delivered personally by the multi talented, and grossly underappreciated musical genius... GINGER and Co. What the hell is wrong with the music industry, that makes it seemingly overlook such BRILLIANT song writing talent? The industry is kicking itself in the nuts! "The Jackson Whites" is definitely the best opening to a Wildhearts album. It's simply mind-blowing. It's ambitious and sprawling and yet still manages to feel tight and controlled. Just a great song. I really can't enthuse about it enough. Then there is "Plastic Jebus" a funked up groove rocker that goes for the throat from the first to the last note. The same goes for the rest of the songs on the album. All rockers and no fillers. The overall sound is fresher, more contemporary and, as noted, far more weightier than the band have sounded in ages. One thing is certain; this album will force repeated spins. It will ignite any listener who wants an aggressive punch of rock and roll with joyous sing along choruses to sweeten the pill. While `Chutzpah' may not be better than the band's early works, it latches itself into yet another niche, representing yet another change of sound while, at heart, retaining the qualities that have earned the band their passionately dedicated fan base. It certainly presses all the right buttons. If anything, `Chutzpah' represents a re-invigorated passion within the band to get out there and ROCK THE HELL OUT, which can only be a good thing! You know that The Wildhearts could implode at any given moment so it's nice to know that if they never recorded another record, tragic though that would be, this would be a damn fine epitaph. Maybe it's about time we started appreciating their musical prowess a bit more than we have?
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
