The Struts “Young & Dangerous”

There’s something joyous about the fact that The Struts are a loud and bombastic band with a sense of glam and daring that hail from…Derby! LA is just so eighties!

There’s certainly nothing ‘humble’ about their sound as immediately demonstrated by “Body Talks” which is a loud and proud rocker. But that’s only the start of things, wait until you get a hold of the glorious OTT rock and roll of “Primadonna Like Me” which is like a super glammed up Rolling Stones.

Inevitably songs like “In Love With A Camera” will result in comparisons to The Darkness. They share that larger then life sound and the presence of Queen at their most bombastic is there too. However, whilst it may all be delivered with  an element of tongue in cheek, it doesn’t fall in to pantomime like the Darkness did.

Things go a bit off on a tangent with “Bulletproof Baby” and “Who Am I” which have a more modern sound and, we kid you not, could easily be turned into huge pop hits by the likes of Little Mix! That’s not an insult as we are a big fan of a pop song, something that’s far harder to write then most people give credit for. It’s also clearly something that The Struts have their eye on, given there is a second version of “Body Talk” featuring Kesha.

Given the huge success of the recent Freddie Mercury film you can’t help but feel that there may be a fresh new audience for the big rock songs like “People” and “Tatler Magazine”. Certainly, tracks like “Fire (Part 1)” and “Ashes (Part 2)” are built for being blasted out in huge arenas.

There’s plenty for music snobs to turn their nose up at here. This is a big, bold and brash album which seems to be aiming for generating a bigger audience for the band. But why the hell shouldn’t they go for it. The band and their sound may be flamboyant but there’s enough dull and bland bands out there. So why not just enjoy the fact that The Struts are going for it.