The Cry! – “Dangerous Game”

The Cry! are one of those bands that seem able to blend a whole host of great influences from many generations to create a perfect sound. “Dangerous Game” is their sophomore album and is a real classic. Whilst showing true power pop roots, they add some crunch and a punk attitude to create a sound which will immediately grab your attention.

Some albums just start off so brilliantly that you know you are going to love them. This is certainly true with this one, where opening song “Discotheque” is a great track with glam rock chords and a cowbell (so wrong to many, but so right to me!). With lyrics including ‘T-Rex on the stereo’ it tells you a lot about where The Cry’s influences are. If only discotheques did play stuff like this! Second track “Toys in The attic” is not an Aerosmith cover, but another great slice of glam, punk pop.

“Hanging Me Up” steps up the punk intent a bit, but it’s still on the bubblegum side. Whilst it may be plated with a sneer, it is held together with a catchy melody and chorus. The punk feel is kept up with “Smirk” but it is also full of “Oh yeahs”, which keep it light hearted and fun. It has a power pop with a crunch feel that goes right back to bands like Cheap Trick. There is another upbeat song later, in the shape of “Dangerous Game”, which also adds a bit more sleaze rock in to the mix and sees you thinking of a more pop Hanoi Rocks.

Thoughts of the album token big ballad start with “Same Old Story” due to it’s slower start, but it soon shifts back in to a great power pop song. We are then transported back to the seventies glam rock feel with “Shakin” which recalls the greats such as T-Rex and Sweet. The lyrics are equally tongue in cheek with lines such as ‘shakin, shakin’ like a vibrator’. The final track, “Nowhere To Go” even starts off with a huge ‘Jean Genie’ riff, before again going in to a Sweet/T-Rex blockbuster, which will have you smiling, singing along and clapping your hands.

In some ways it doesn’t seem right reviewing this album. It is not an album which should be subjected to a lot of scrutiny and appraisal. It is an album chock full of great glam, power pop tracks.

Is it one dimensional? probably

Does that matter, hell no!

There are hundreds of bands producing dour and boring rock. The Cry!, however, have delivered an album which is bright, colourful and brilliantly enjoyable. It has a great bubblegum punk pop feel which will appeal to seventies glam fans, glam metal fans, power pop fans, in fact, anyone who can appreciate that some music is just about bringing some instant three minute segments of joy into someone’s life.