Rock You Can't Beat! (Chutzpah! - The Wildhearts)

Member Name: sparksteroid

Product:	Chutzpah! - The Wildhearts
Date:	20/09/09 (40 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Original, fresh, catchy, thoroughly enjoyable

Disadvantages: Not quite as good as the last album (but still awesome!)

Chutzapah is the ninth official studio album from one of my all time favourite bands, The Wildhearts. Although being signed previously, they are now independent and this album was released through Backstage Alliance. This is also the first album they've created which consists of input from all members of the band - previously frontman, Ginger, did most (if not all) of the work himself, inlcuding both the songwriting, singing and guitar. Although it's undeniable that Ginger is a genius at what he does and is hugely underestimated, it's still interesting and more creative that they have worked much more communally on Chutzpah.

The first single from the album is called The Only One and while I don't personally think it's one of the stronger tracks from Chutzpah, it is still very enjoyable. Alternatively, this song was written and is sang by Scott Sorry, rather than having any to do with Ginger. The song has a great melody and strong British punk influenced style to it, but in all honesty, is very simplistic and not outstandingly original, whereas the rest of the album sounds modern and fresh.

The album kicks off with 'The Jackson Whites' which contains some great and very typical catchy and melodic Wildhearts guitar riffs with lots of changes throughout but one thing is immediately and instantly very clear - the production of the album has been brought up to date and sounds extremely smooth, especially in comparison to past Wildhearts releases. Plastic Jebus is another great track, full of melody and catchy riffs once again though I'm not quite sure why it's called Plastic Jebub, he actually says 'Jesus' on the chorus.

Once you've got into the slightly modernized feel of the album, you begin to realize that the classic Wildhearts style and cleverly consructed lyrics are still present, they've just been polished up a tad. Mid-way through the album the style seems to go back to it's roots a little with tracks like Mazel Tov Cocktail, You Are Proof That Not All Women Are Insane and You Took The Sunshine From New York - all tracks which seem to put a subtle smile on your face.

The most intersting track on this album is the final one, the tital track Chutzpah. It starts off with melodic vocals that have been clearly subject to the full effect of the vocoder, a technique which seems to be becoming every more popular in mainstream music today, especialy R&B, hiphop and the like. However, this is combined with some strong powerful and very catchy guitar riffs which seem to adapt through many combinations and variations that keep the music constantly adapting as it goes on. Sometimes it gets thrashy, sometimes it sounds chaotic and sometimes it just sounds cool. It's a very impressive romp indeed, there's no other word for it!

I remember hearing their last studio album for the first time, the 2007 self-titled The Wildhearts. It still blows me away right now every time I listen and it's difficult to beat. While Chutzpah is not quite as good as the previous release, it's still an outstanding album from an outstanding band with some great modern new touches and fresh original ideas that could pave the way of the future for a new wave of rock music.

Highly recommended.

Summary: There's no better rock music than this!