by Matt Karpe
– Sr. Columnist —
Reckless Love’s last album Spirit found the band arguably reaching their pinnacle, a near perfect collection of glam-tinged modern rock that, whilst some might call cheesy, was undoubtedly fun, energetic and goddamned addictive.
So, after potentially making the album of their career, where do Reckless Love go next with their fourth record InVader?
The first thing that comes to mind is, it’s not as good as Spirit (unsurprisingly), in fact the sound and diversity of styles see’s the Finnish fun boys retracing their Animal Attraction era. There’s the classic Glam Metal and Hard Rock, the boyish humor within the lyrical content and attempts to incorporate Europop within the Rock mainstream.
What is also fair to say is, had this album been made by any other modern rock band, InVader would probably be their best ever release, so it’s a testament to Reckless Love’s talent for writing brilliant songs aplenty.
There are the vintage Reckless moments with the stomping “We Are The Weekend” and the following “Hands,” oozing catchy riffs and arena sized drumming. Olli Herman’s swaggering vocals sound as good as ever and the choruses are instantly memorable.
“Keep It Up All Night” rivals “Night On Fire” for the most annoyingly likeable song; a real head infector with the 80s style guitar hooks and dance floor chorus.
Of course, as we all know, Reckless Love have some pop in them too, showcased by the summery anthem “Child Of The Sun,” which also has a hint of reggae in it. It is dreamy and unapologetic and only Olli & Co. can pull this off on a rock record. “Scandinavian Girls” and “Pretty Boy Swagger” are fairly experimental, the latter coming across with a touch of dubstep amongst the tasty guitar work.
“Rock It” sounds like a Def Leppard tribute and the brilliant “Destiny” is the customary ballad. It is melodic and heartfelt whilst still rocking hard. This a great song that would have fitted in the Spirit track list nicely.
“Monster” and “Bullettime” are two more harder edged smashers, the first being an ode to the fairer sex, the latter sounding like classic Motley Crue.
InVader is an excellent album, strong and diverse featuring everything that we have come to love and expect of Reckless Love. But it isn’t Spirit. They will never beat that album, never, ever and if they do, I’ll go and buy a Justin Bieber CD and listen to it as a punishment for being so wrong. That’s how confident I am. But back to InVader– summing up, it is a damn good record in itself, and Reckless Love are still one of the best in the business.
Genre: Glam Metal, Hard Rock
Band:
Olli Herman
Pepe Reckless
Hessu Maxx
Jalle Verne
Track Listing:
1. We Are The Weekend
2. Hands
3. Monster
4. Child Of The Sun
5. Bullettime
6. Scandinavian Girls
7. Pretty Boy Swagger
8. Rock It
9. Destiny
10. Let’s Get Cracking (THWP)
11. Keep It Up All Night
Label: Spinefarm (UK)
Website: www.recklesslove.com
Hardrock Haven Rating: 8/10
