After two crushingly good albums and a third in the can, all of a sudden singer Nathan James found himself looking for a new band with a tour and a new album to promote. Such is the life of a Rock and Roller. This is the album that was written and recorded before the split and if you’re an existing fan of the band there is a change in the air but nothing too drastic.
As I said when we spoke to Nathan this one is a little different to the first two albums, there’s a progression.We’ve not lost those Classic Rock vibes by any means but there’s a little more in the mix. He agreed…
“I think, it was kind of a group decision to make it sound different. I specifically wanted it to sound a bit harder and a bit grungier, which I think it does in places, but there are still moments when it’s out and out Classic Rock. It’s definitely got those same big riffs and Bluesy moments, so I wouldn’t say it’s totally removed from the previous two and it’s something that we’ve certainly learnt over the last couple of years that the stuff that’s been going down best live, is the more heavier stuff. That’s the stuff that people react to most in the live format and that’s kind of where we thrive as a band“.
And that is pretty much what you get – all the glorious melodies we expect from Inglorious but with added edge and grunt. There are some wonderful songs on there, not a single track that doesn’t deserve its slot and it all starts with the opener – just hearing those chunky opening riffs to ’Where Are They Now’ both lets you know it’s going to be a great album but maybe also a little heavier?
It’s tracks like ‘Liar’ though that really seal it for me – great subject matter and one that lots of people can relate too. ‘Glory Days’ that closes is also right up there – a wonderful song that’s sure to feature in the live set. Then there’s ‘Queen’ one that was written about Nathan’s mum. Nathan told us all about it:
“Yeah I’ve never written a song about my mum and without sounding like a soppy idiot, she and my father are my biggest heroes, even above your Coverdale’s and Glenn Hughes’. They are without a doubt the most amazing people I’ve ever met and I’ve never written a song for her and I was always conscious of it. It’s interesting because my mum doesn’t love Rock, my Dad was always the Rock fan in the house. And when I heard that riff, that I believe Drew came up with I thought it was great, it wasn’t too heavy, it was more groovy, a bit more funky and I thought – this sounds like it could be about my mum! And that’s how that came about”.
One of the most powerful songs though is closer ‘Glory Days’ which is actually about a relationship:
“Yeah I mean it was a tough one for me, because that relationship I felt like I’d found my soulmate but as time went on I realised it wasn’t and then I tried to convince myself to get back with that person because I just wasn’t ready to leave it, I wasn’t ready to sign off from that relationship… It was really hard to write down the events and writing it down in the studio I actually got so emotional I was crying. By the third take of the song I was so exhausted from singing it I broke down and I think on the album you can actually hear that in the outro of the song, my voice is really on the edge of that, right on the brink of breaking and it was a real moment for me as a singer because I rarely let myself go that much, I really concentrate on my notes making sure I sound good”.
The rest of the album is just as convincing, from the out and out rockers to the lighter moments, it’s the feeling of a band knowing what they do well but also want to push a little harder and get outside of their comfort zone.
“There’s a couple of moments on the album especially in ‘I Don’t Know You’ where I really let myself go in the studio and didn’t care so much that it sounded pretty, more that it sounded real”.
It’s a great summary and a great album.
Let’s hope Inglorious’ fourth outing is just as powerful…