poppedmusic

Suego Faults

Released 25th July 2011

Suego Faults is the début album from Wolf Gang and it is quite an unexpected treat. Not that I was expecting it to be rubbish, just that it’s much more interesting than I was perhaps anticipating. There’s a real pop feel to this album, a classic pop sound. There are piano parts that could have been part of an old Elton John track back in the day. Though the place of the piano here isn’t at the forefront of the songs, more a strong musical ingredient that strengthens the mix. Stay And Defend, has a beginning that, for reasons known only to my own brain, reminds me of the beginning of Fleetwood Mac’s Tell Me Lies. It doesn’t sound like it once I listened to it but it still made me sing it, the oddity that I am. Opening track Lions In Cages harnesses a collection of sounds from different eras and genres, from a smattering of 70s glam rock, to 90s indie, and what a way to reach out and grab your attention for the start of an album.

The album’s lead single The King and All Of His Men, is one of the real high points of the album and not just because I’m more familiar with it, but because of the way it builds and dips, the chorus has an almost anthemic quality to it and it is a brilliant pop song by pretty much all accounts. Followed by a track that has such a different mood to it. Back To Back, has a much slower pace, even though it does pick up slightly. It has really moody guitars and bass that both really drive the song forward with a more than a hint of swagger and attitude yet not in a boastful or arrogant way.

If it’s late 70s sounds you’re looking for then you can find those on Suego Faults too. There are hints at 70s pop and even a nod to Glam Rock woven in and out of a lot of the tracks. Midnight Dancers though is decidedly 70s in its sound. The vocal style and melody nods to the likes of Marc Bolan and David Bowie. It’s one of my favourite tracks on the album for it’s beautiful lyrical content as well as it’s clever style. The song doesn’t sound out of place on the album, nor indeed for the year in which it’s released. It is quite stylized, but I get that feeling about the album as a whole and it actually really works because there is movement and flow throughout the album, it’s not all samey samey and with a vocal style such as this it could have turned out to be that way.

The album’s title track is again another one that I really really do quite like. It’s quite a romantic song in many ways; the lyrics, the music and the melody, but not so that it’s sickly sweet. From the first few listens it was one of the stand out tracks, perhaps because it is one of the slower tracks and is sandwiched between two really upbeat and up tempo tracks so it does tend to stick out a little for that reason, but it is a lovely song too!

As much as I like, and in parts love, this album there’s something about it that tells me it’s not going to be an album I pick up again in a months, or even a years time and listen to and think, “wow yeah this is so good.” I think it has had a really positive initial reaction but because there aren’t many “grower” type tracks on it, that it may turn into a bit of a fad album for me, which is a shame because there are lots of brilliant aspects to it and I am enjoying it at this point in time. I just have this feeling it’s not a keeper of an album, probably  partly due to my fickleness. There are certainly tracks that I think will always live with me on playlists but as an album, sadly I think it will be long gone by the time Winter comes around.