the Reytons

Week 5: James Arthur- Bitter Sweet Love

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I have never been a fan of this 2012 X Factor winner, nor do I believe he should be No.1 after a bullshit technicality. The Reytons outsold him, but James got it due to a complaint from some jobsworth in the industry. I believe this decision has marred this week’s chart. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if corruption was involved. Unlike a fair few of the former winners and contestants of the ITV talent show, James has grafted away while they have disappeared into obscurity. He also has a mad hairstyle—a cross between Mike Flowers and Tim Burgess without the bleach blonde. 

“Bitter Sweet Love” is the fifth album released by James. Although he has distinctly husky and soulful vocals, how long has he got before this no longer carries him? Yes, it is different from the likes of Ed Sheeran and Harry Styles, and I am going to throw an obscure one from 2011, Josh Kumra, but they are versatile. When reading about this record or purely people’s opinions, I heard it was full-on rock. Really? Where? I heard some rock but also plenty of piano ballads and acoustic moments. The album is quite reflective. ‘Free Falling’, ‘Just Us’, and ‘Is It Alright?’ have some hard-hitting lyrics, but that’s about it. I tend to like piano ballads and acoustic songs, but they made this record disjointed, and you drift away because they are too frequent on what is allegedly a “rock album”.

The opener is the title track, which unfortunately turns out to be a false dawn. As I said, the record needs to maintain your interest. The title track, however, captures your attention with its bombastic sound. There are a few more moments like that on the album. ‘Blindside’ draws inspiration from the 1980s, and the highlight must be ‘Comeback Kid’. Now that is full-on rock. His attempts at being political on ‘New Generation’ fall flat. It had a nice rock feel, though.

Listen at your discretion, but I’m afraid there are too many moments when your concentration drifts away. The Reytons have been robbed, and this record didn’t deserve to “win”.

Song recommendations: ‘Comeback Kid’, ‘Bitter Sweet Love’, ‘Just Us’

6/10

Week 36: Olivia Rodrigo- GUTS

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I fucking loved Olivia’s debut, “Sour”(Or is it “SOUR”?). She is different from your usual music star in the charts. She has plenty of fucking attitude and is unapologetic about it. Her debut was outstanding, and that punk spirit and it was definitely refreshing to see the singles chart shaken up by this angry lady. 

She certainly isn’t your usual Disney Kidz star. She doesn’t give a fuck what you think about her. She swears profusely, has a punk spirit, and loves to rock out. “GUTS”, the follow-up to “SOUR”, makes that album look tame. Olivia cranked the amps up to 10, and her attitude and opinions. Like every record, there is a lull and softer moments, but she does go tonto for most of the album. She isn’t here to please her label boss but to tell you her life with no holds barred. She doesn’t give a fuck about being commercially viable. This record is indie to how a label wants their musicians to be.

Olivia grew up listening to her parent’s music collection, which consisted of grunge and rock, and she has incorporated that into this album, but with subjects of dealing with fame, relationships, and other teenage angst topics. I fucking love the opener ‘All-American Bitch’. You hear an acoustic being plucked at the intro and verses before it fucking explodes in the chorus as well as her vocal volume and attitude. The electric guitars add to that effect. I also loved the solo.

‘Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl’, which resembled ke$ha-like songs. You have softly spoken verses; occasional rapping with big choruses is another highlight. As mentioned, there are quieter, more reflective moments, but do not lack the angst featured on the full-in rock tracks. She even shows insecurity about her appearance on ‘Lacy’, an acoustic track, and confesses about being envious of what others see as “Perfection”. The soaring vocals bring that out. As gloomy as it is, ‘Making the Bed’ reminded me of that dream pop sound that we associate with Katy Perry in the late noughties and early tens. Like ‘All-American Bitch’, ‘Vampires’ starts softly with a piano rather than an acoustic guitar before synths and guitars hit you by surprise.

I was slated for rating “SOUR”, but fuck you. This girl is so versatile in her writing. She writes full-on rock tracks to tender piano ballads, and the vocal delivery convinces you every song means everything to her. Her lyrics, at times, also add an element of sarcasm and comedy.

This record is like a person with schizophrenia. One minute, it is full-on, then tame, and then full-on again, repeating a spontaneous tempo. In musical terms, it’s like having iTunes, iMusic, Tidal, Spotify and Deezer on shuffle. You never know what’s coming. Despite that, every record should have heavy and reflective moments. It shows the songwriter’s versatility as well as showing they are human.

Besides the Reytons, the Lathums, Frank Turner, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds and Foo Fighters, the album chart lacks records that spark energy into your ears. Olivia has come along and made the album of the year that deserves to be nominated for the Mercury Prize next year. I wonder if this album will be number one next week. The album chart hasn’t had a mainstay this year yet, and the way music is these days, I don’t expect “GUTS” to break that but fuck me. It is a fantastic yet schizophrenic album. Olivia is a different breed to the new age pop star, which is a breath of fresh air. Another fucking monumental record. We need more musicians like this in the singles chart instead of nodding puppets for the label bosses.

Song recommendations: ‘All-American Bitch’, ‘Making the Bed’, ‘Ballad of a Homeschooled Girl’

9/10

Week 4: the Reytons- What’s Rock n Roll?

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I fucking think it is fucking brilliant what the band have achieved without any label behind them and how it has now changed the landscape of music. RAYE is also releasing her debut album, “21st Century Blues”, next week after leaving her label, which gave her nothing but grief, and releasing it independently after just over a decade of waiting. Funnily enough, the band’s motto is “No backing, no label, all Reytons”. Of course, off the back of the success of the record, through social media postings and gigging, they are now signed. 

I vaguely knew who the band from Yorkshire was before I found out they were heading for the top of the chart. I am switched on to Indie UK and Irish twitter. I have discovered artists/bands like Fontaines DC, the Lathums, the Great Leslie, Forgotten Door, Skylights, Citylightz, Rianne Downey, and the Reytons. I must confess that I had yet to listen to any of the band’s tracks before discovering their album on their YouTube account. What struck me almost immediately was how much frontman Jonny Yerrell sounds like a young Alex Turner. Their wall of sound reminded me of the Arctic Monkeys in their early days. A very raw and in-your-face sound. Nothing polished, clean or sounding like the last two records by the Arctics.

I remember watching a documentary asking, “is Guitar Music Dead?” featuring Noel Gallagher, among others. Noel said it was, as well as Paul Weller, but Jehnny Beth from the Savages strongly disagreed. The music that has hit the top of the album chart since 2020 proves that guitar music is still alive. When you think about it, many genres use the guitar in their production, so it will never fade out, far less die. 

The Reytons are proving again with their second album and bringing back the type of indie which made you jump around and belt out songs like a soul possessed. I found out, upon research, that their name is the Yorkshire dialect for “right ones”. As I mentioned earlier, Jonny sounds like a young Alex Turner and even had the sarcasm to boot. The rest of the band played at 100 miles an hour, which, apart from the Arctics, could be compared to the Libertines in their prime. You will certainly enjoy yourself at their gigs, which will be explosive and over before you get a chance to catch your breath. The choruses are from another world, too. Catchy and full of energy, which will see a crowd surge towards the front barrier.

I can honestly say I fucking loved this album. The energy, the swagger, the conscious lyrics, the grandiose choruses, and just like their gigs, it is an explosive record that is over before you have realised. A fucking superb record. Truly outstanding.

Song recommendations: ‘Avalanche’, ‘Little Bastards’, ‘Cash in Hand & Fake IDs’

8/10