The Struts go big (yet again) on their third studio effort, the rowdy and aptly named
Strange Days. Having found favor with American audiences -- the group's ascension in the U.K. has been slow but steady -- the fun-loving Brits elected to relocate to Los Angeles in February 2020, but their dreams of cosplaying the Sunset Strip shenanigans of their pop-metal forebearers were squelched as the City of Angels went on lockdown. Always the unflappable optimists, the
Struts decided to turn lemons into champagne by booking a ten-day studio run and cranking out a ten-song set that both acknowledges and repudiates that paradigm shift. Commencing uncharacteristically with soft piano chords and chirping birds, the ruminative title track eventually gains momentum, with
Luke Spiller's and special guest
Robbie Williams' voices dovetailing into a huge, life-affirming crescendo --
Williams recorded his part at home on his porch, hence the avian choir. The likeminded but much beefier isolation lament "All Dressed Up (With Nowhere to Go)" arrives via the roar of a motorcycle and a riff that
Keith Richards would probably like to have back, before settling into a tight, greasy groove. The features-heavy set continues with
Def Leppard's
Phil Collen and
Joe Elliott remoting in on the jocular,
Grand Funk Railroad-inspired "I Hate How Much I Want You," and
Albert Hammond, Jr. lending his six-string skills to the sly alt-rocker "Another Hit of Showmanship," but there's little doubt about who wears the pants in this production.
Spiller continues to be one of the most charismatic frontmen in the biz, and he sells everything that comes out of his mouth -- "Open up your front door, bonjour, I'm your getaway car, I could tell you my sign but I'm already a star" -- with the cocksure persuasion of someone that popped out of the womb three beers in and holding a mic stand.
Strange Days shares some connective tissue with its more opulent predecessor but feels less like it was made by a committee. As per usual, the
Struts pair huge commercial pop aspirations with the swagger of
Faces, but this time around, it sounds like it was their idea. ~ James Christopher Monger
