WOLVES IN ARGYLE – ALBUM REVIEW


Wolves in Argyle – Dangereux (Incineration Ceremony
Wolves in Argyle - Dangereux
Recordings)

Release Date: Out Now

OK, cards on the table, I was originally attracted to this release because I thought it was about my football team playing another football team (soccer for any American readers). In a fortunate twist of fate, the Oakland quartet are actually awesome and this album, ‘Dangereux’, is a real blast of fresh air in an increasingly stale genre. Kicking off, in every sense, with title track ‘Dangereux’, Wolves in Argyle awaken a snarling and groaning beast of a tune that thrashes, crashes and has a Viking energy about it thanks to the immense drum sound. ‘Beautiful Losers’ comes next with a frantic garage-punk riff and an intense power about it before ‘Into the Outs’ carries on the party with Foo Fighters-esque guitars and gang vocals to die for.

Wolves in Argyle
You might expect ‘Letters Never Sent’ to be a sombre ballad but instead the track builds with huge tension that explodes after 80 seconds like a cross between Kube and the Stooges. Similarly, ‘Next To You’ might sound like a Bryan Adams number but the steady beat is soon augmented by a chunky riff and the kind of vocals that don’t hold anything back. ‘Northern Lies’ takes a leaf out of the Anvil book of hard rocking while ‘Disregard’ takes it back to the old school – y’know, the one where the Ramones are the Headteachers. The rock energy of ‘Charlatan’ is infectious to the point where you worry about the safety of the bell on the ride cymbal and then the album closes out with ‘Wasteless’, a balls to the wall punk-rock road-trip that takes less that three minutes to nail you to the wall and leave you hanging. Wolves in Argyle are a straight-up rock’n’roll outfit with no time for chancers so if that sounds like your bag then climb on board.