Release Date: July 25th, 2011
Reviewed By Evelyn Miska Krieger
Wolf Gang’s first full-length album, Suego Faults, is what one might expect from a debut, there are some ups and downs, but in general it’s a solid album and many of the perks outweigh the problems. Even if listeners didn’t know prior to investigating Suego Faults, it isn’t tough to pick up on the band’s British roots and fondness for a bit of a retro style mixed with some indie sensibilities.
While it’s probably a sensible thing that all of the songs aren’t just like “Lions In Cages” it’s a testament to the strength of the song when you do want the others to be more like it, even just a tiny bit. With its electro-pop style, it will likely remind some people of MGMT, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s an upbeat track that is almost impossible not to tap your toe to and a smart choice to kick off the rest of the collection. Occasionally, the album gets a bit too enthusiastic in its nods to past styles and genres and “Something Unusual” falls into that category. It’s just a smidge too 1980s (at least for those who lived through the ‘80s) and doesn’t go quite far enough blending new and old to create a cool new sound.
“Stay and Defend” does a better job of finding a spot in between things and has a particularly catchy chorus that brings a little bit of a more modern sound to things. Similarly, “The King and All of His Men” succeeds in the same way. There’s little doubt as to what decade Wolf Gang is honoring with the song, but it isn’t a complete throwback and manages to keep things somewhat fresh by blending in a little of that same style as found on “Lions in Cages.”
To round out the album, Wolf Gang pulls out all the stops with “Planets,” a slower, highly dramatic track with a slow build. The guitar solo two-thirds of the way through adds some variety, but the similarities to Queen aren’t tough to miss. Sure, the grandeur is there, but this is yet another spot where Wolf Gang doesn’t make the sound their own. It is well done, but there isn’t anything fresh about it to make young listeners take notice. If that isn’t their goal and they’re aiming for the 30+ audience, then fine, they’ll accomplish that. But if they want a wider fan-base then they’ll need to do a little rethinking.
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