Customer Reviews

Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It seems that The Wildhearts can do no wrong, apart from breaking up every few years. "The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed!" follows a string of Wildhearts releases that have all been top-notch, so the expectations for this one were high. We needn't have worried. Nothing but classic Wildies here. Songs that'll stick in your head after the first listen, ball-busting guitars that'll give you the best-sounding enema you've ever had. Also features excellent production, for once. The sound is crisp and clear on headphones, and will sound just as great blasted full volume in your car with all the windows down (as this album begs to be cranked).

This album is a bit more pop-oriented than their previous efforts, as they seem to be focusing on writing fantastic songs on this one, rather than seeing how many riffs they can fit into a song (not that that's a bad thing at all!). The Wildhearts have never been a band to stay the same, and I think this is a logical step in their progression. Enjoy it.

Long live The Wildhearts.

Bear witness with an open mind and an open heart. Some of you may be familiar with Plato's Myth of the Cave: People live in a cave, seeing the images on the wall cast by the light coming from outside. They believe all their lives they are seeing the actual object and not merely a shadow on the wall. The Wildhearts are the thing itself, what makes that projection from outside the cave. In the last two years, if I had a nickel for every time I read some bio/press release/review proclaiming X band as the saviours of rock and roll, I'd be on tour right now (I wish I'd have a nickel back for every time I was subjected to Nickelback! Arrrgh!).

If I will ever say it about anyone, I would reserve it for the Wildhearts with this album. "Nexus Icon" is a furnace blast in the face of music that's been frozen in carbonite for all too long. "Someone Who Won't Let Me Go" is pure power pop with a serrated blade. Vocals and harmonies are carefully crafted as if Ginger was the true spawn of John Phillips (and not those other, uh, things - ick). "Vanilla Radio" is the obvious hit, but not for no reason other than it's a well crafted song with hooks, rife with the guts of rock and the right combination of molasses and ire and radio-ready production. On the sweeter "One Love, One Life, One Girl", this could have easily come from Cheap Trick if Cheap Trick wasn't TRYING so hard nowadays to be Cheap Trick (but that's another rant altogether). "Only One Hell" is the track that grew on me the most over the 1000 times I listened to this album.

There is no posing. This is it. Not the shadow, but the thing itself. They are on "Top of the World" projecting a shadow on the rest of us. But being freed from the cave to be blinded by the light, I wonder if I shouldn't hang it up myself.

This CD is a speeding ticket waiting to happen. I've shaved 10 minutes off of my drive to work just by listening to it in the morning. The energy oozes out of the sound system and completes a circuit with my right foot, which causes my vehicle to reach 90MPH on the Northwest Tollway outside of Chicago.

If you enjoy your Rock'N'Roll with contrasts and dynamics, "...Must be Destroyed" is IT. It is 100% energy throughout with contrasts in tempo and heaviness. These are tightly crafted songs with more hooks than Babe Winkelman's tackle box.

The album takes off like a rocket with "Nexus Icon". This is as strong an opening statement that you could ever hope for on an album. The Wildhearts are giving a hearty middle finger to the current state of pop culture on this one.

"Only Love" is the song that should be released as a single YESTERDAY. It's one of those rare songs that feels familiar even though it's brand new. It's Rock'N'Roll enough to have an edge, but it also has a chorus that will infiltrate your gray matter and not let go. If I ever get Alzheimer's, I'll still be singing this one.

"Someone That Won't Let Me Go" is in the same vein as "Only Love" and almost feels like a continuation (ala Journey's "Feeling That Way/Anytime").

"Vanilla Radio" is a fist-pumping number that translates GREAT in concert. This is one of the CD's heavier tracks, but as everything else on this CD, has an incredible hook.

"One Love..." definitely sports an early Beatles influence but is still uniquely Wildhearts. It is a mid-tempo pop number, and is the softest track on the CD. It sets the table for the jolt awaiting on the next track.

"Get Your Groove On" is a very short assault on the senses with a cameo by Justin Hawkins (of the Darkness - for those who have been in a broom closet for the last six months). It is the heaviest track and plays like a watershed between the first and second half of the CD.

"So into You" is an up tempo track with some of the most memorable lyrics on the CD. This is sounding redundant, but this song also has an A+ hook. The chorus is very well done with a great guitar line that echoes the chorus. By this point, you realize that you have placed your ears in the hands of a song-writing master craftsman.

"There's Only One Hell" plays a lot more upbeat than the title suggests. It's about looking someone in the eye and saying "do your worst!" The tone of tongue-in-cheek defiance exemplifies what great Rock'N'Roll is made of.

"It's All Up to Me" features a very percussive chorus, which provides a good contrast to the other songs on the CD. Following "There's Only One Hell" which lays the blame at the foot of the other person, "It's All Up to Me" is a 180-degree response.

"Out from the Inside" is a crunchy song about perspective. This could be interpreted as the aftermath of the previous two tracks, but I am probably reading too much into it.

The CD concludes with a masterpiece. "Top of the World" is a timeless anthem that is the gift wrap on the entire package. The best lyric on the whole set is the "agony and ecstasy" line. This song is perfect. If you play guitar or drums, "Top of the World" will inspire you to pick up your instrument.

There is not a clunker on the CD. It was worth the extra $$$ as an import, and now that it's available as a domestic release there are no excuses to not own it. With proper label support and airplay, there is no reason why this band should not be dominating the airwaves. I just discovered the Wildhearts through their tour with the Darkness, but this is a band that I will be listening to until I die. These songs are timeless. If you don't want to take my word for it, look up the Spin magazine review.

Compared to their rabid fan base across the big pond, I'm an amateur when it comes to The Wildhearts and their music, but I'm quickly catching up. Until recently, due to an inability to stomach shelling out the big coin required to procure copies of their import-only releases, I've had to content myself with a domestic copy of "Earth Vs. The Wildhearts," a British import of "Landmines And Pantomimes" I snagged in a Virgin outlet in Heathrow on the way back from Malta in 1999, and a few compilation CD-R's I've managed to mooch from internet acquaintances. For the most part, offering up the souls of my children in exchange for those "Riff After Motherf*cking Riff" B-sides has been a fair trade (that's called sarcasm). Whether you view "Earth Vs." as a badge of honor or a millstone around the necks of Ginger and company probably depends on whether you're a glass half-empty or glass half-full type. In my own little world - which you probably wouldn't want to visit, but I'm OK with it, they know me there - that album represents the apex of pop music in the dark decade of the 90's (only Oasis' "Definitely Maybe" and Social Distortion's "Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell" can touch it). It comes roaring out of the chute like a top fuel dragster running on melted-down Cheap Trick, Mott The Hoople, and New York Dolls albums, with a Sex Pistols power boost, all trashy bombast, choppy guitars, and fuzz stomp, serving up one hook-filled queasy thrill after another. It remains the standard by which all Wildheart albums are measured, world without end, Amen.

Stating the obvious, that "The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed" is no "Earth Vs. The Wildhearts," pays it a grave disservice, and while it lacks some of the amateurish enthusiasm, memorable melodies, and sardonic edge of its predecessor(s), it by no means plumbs new depths of musical blandness by embracing the corporate dollar either. Some of the surfaces are a wee bit slicker here, as Ginger, CJ, and Stidi take a step back from the righteous punk sludge they're accustomed to slinging and pay a bit more attention to the details, from Kym Nail's soul-drenched backing vocals on "Only Love" to the damn-near tender guitar and vocal intro by Ginger on "One Love, One Life, One Girl" and his harmonies on "There's Only One Hell." One quick glimpse at the lyrics and it's obvious the old cur's been smitten.

Elsewhere, it's the same old dog with no new tricks though (and I say let's offer up a Hail Mary or Our Father or two for that), the Wildhearts reaching a full-bore grind on the stuttering "Nexus Icon" and "Get Your Groove On," which veer dangerously close to joyless, empty exercises in sheer volume, and the fizz pop modern rock of "Out From The Inside," "Vanilla Radio," and "Top Of The World." There's something about this album, which I can't quite put my finger on, that makes me think these guys are coasting through a period of refocus, steeling themselves for one more big push over here in the land of milk and honey, a place where their music has thus far fallen on deaf, dimwit ears. Although this album's been available in the UK for some time now, it's finally been granted a U.S. release, something we should all raise a pint to Sanctuary for. "The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed" ain't a bad teaser, but I'm already clearing a spot on the shelf for the next one. Live with it...

Good but they've done much better is more or less what i can say about this album. Anyone familiar with The Wildhearts knows that they are one of the best may be 'thee' best kept secret in the rock/hard rock world!

The band broke up around 1998 and reformed in 2001, other than the 'Riff After Riff..' mini-album this was the first albums worth of new material. It is definitely a good album, there is nothing wrong with it. Ginger the main songwriter, a writer with his heart on his sleeve and it is clear from this album that he was totally smitten any fan knowing that he was in a long term emotionally rewarding relationship at the time (unfortunately that collapsed).

This album was recorded with the original Earth Vs The Wildhearts (first album 1993)line-up. Ginger especially wanted this to be a restart for the band in every sense of the word. Even right down to the title of the album echoing the 1993 debut (but Earth Vs.. is by far the better album)

Any Wildhearts fan won't be able to deny that the Wildhearts material where Ginger is really on fire is when he has something wise/worldly/wonderful to say or when he is angry etc. (the self-titled 2007 album is much better) but this album is by 'no means' not worth the purchase.

It is full of head-grabbing hooks, rose-tinted melodies and power-hard rock. It's worth it.
*Hell, if anyone is interested in the band then it really is worth getting every album!!*

The Wildhearts are back, and I am pleased to hear it. "The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed" is a rock album that defies categories. Mixing the shiny pop of Treble Charger with the angry grit of White Zombie, this album is one kick butt ride that is constantly changing, thus doesn't grow boring. Highly, highly, highly recommended.

This album contains all the good stuff about The Wildhearts, but not the best stuff. Listen to it against Earth Vs. The Wildhearts, and you might share an opinion with a few others that their first album was the strongest album, with the content of "Must Be Destroyed" better placed before the release of "Earth Vs".

Everyone's review highlights their lyrical and musical content, but the review I think that best sums them up was written back in '93, quoting them as being 'Somewhere between Ministry and The Beach Boys'.

Good to have them still around; I'm glad I held onto the Get Well card they gave to me, with Ginger so honestly writting "Get well soon ya F@$ker!". Good Times

As one reviewer previously stated, "Where have I been?" That sums up my opinion on The Wildhearts. Have known about them for a long time, but until seeing them in Chicago with The Darkness in March, owning a Wildhearts album was never a necessity.
This is one of those records I feel crosses all boundaries in the world of rock music. Like other hard rocking Brits that came before them, The Wildhearts know the power of a good riff, and this album is chock full of enough to keep air guitarists around the world throwing the windmill shape until their arms are ready to fall out of their sockets.
What really sucks you in with this record is the enormous hooks and catchy melodies that are mixed with the wall of guitar fuzz. Over driven Marshalls. tasty bass lines, driving drums and vocal harmonies that would make Def Leppard blush. The high harmony by Kym Nail on 'Only Love' is worth the price of the CD alone.
After seeing these guys live, I knew that Ginger and the Wildhearts know what rock n' roll is supposed to be about. This record is a merely a confirmation, and should be bigger than anything thrown at us by Nickelback, Tantric, or any other album rock radio heroes that have been shoved down our throats.
Thin Lizzy, Motorhead, and The Almighty are a few great UK bands that are my personal favorites. These bands have been ignored by most on this side of the Atlantic, and I hope The Wildhearts are not added to this list. If they are, I would have to consider moving to England. High taxes, bad television and a non stop diet of fish and chips would be worth living with if Great Britian has more gems like The Wildhearts that we don't know about.

At last. Here it is. The legendary Wildhearts have finally released their 4th full length album, their first in 5 years since 1997's Endless Nameless. How does it compare?

Well, if each Wildhearts album were a mood they would run thus:
Earth Vs The Wildhearts - Storming determination
P.h.u.q. - Withdrawn bile and bitterness with occasional sunny florishes.
Endless Nameless - Pure distorted rage.
The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed - Overblown pleasure!

This is by far the Wildhearts most accessible and unashamedly POP album so far. That's not to say it lacks it's full blown rockers, songs "Nexus Icon", the newly re-vamped "Vanilla Radio", and "Get Your Groove On" thunder along just as heavily as any of the bands previous output. However this time there is a significant difference. Ginger is in love.

Yup, the whole album screams love. From the beautiful sounding "Only Love" to the Jonesing-For-Jones-but-happy sensibilities of "One Love, One Life, One Girl" to the (also re-vamped - and much the better for it) "So Into You", Ginger is one happy happy man. I challenge anybody to listen to the opening riff of "It's All Up Top Me" and not grin like a hog in rock heaven.

Which makes for a huge poppy bundle of songs. Also, with the first ever Wildhearts song to be entirely credited to someone other than Ginger ("Out From The Inside" is penned by CJ alone) the album perhaps marks a stand of collective contentment as well as individual.

My only criticism of the album would be the pop. Yes, it is the albums main strength but also its weakness. While it is almost unfair to say so, almost any song on any of the other Wildhearts albums would rank as better than most the songs on this collection. The thing that is missing here is not the riffs per se, but the variety of riffs. Remember the riff arsenals that were "Caprice", "Greetings...", "Love U Till I Don't", "News Of The World", "Inglorious" etc? No such song here, most songs stick to the initial riff for the most part and there is none of the trademark oh-my-god-what-is-such-a-heavy-riff-doing-with-these-pop-vocals shockers (except perhaps the genius "Vanilla Radio" and the wonderfully stop-start mechanics of "Nexus Icon"). Its only possible to criticise the album this way because you know the Wildhearts can do, and have done better.

However, I am their biggest fan and perhaps harshest critic. I cannot deny that I love this album to pieces and you couldn't tear it off me with industrial strength paint stripper. The Wildhearts Must Be Destroyed is an unrepentantly happy album that will hopefully make the 'hearts upper chart contenders once again - from which position who knows what curveball they'll throw at us next?

Once more The Wildhearts strike! Ferocious rock with sweet melodic icing makes this the must buy of the year. I got the import copy and was blown away! If you like rock and roll, then you simply must buy this right away. Hard riffs, great hooks, beautiful singing...I can never get enough of The Wildhearts.