Toronto based power trio Mad Ones sound rather sloppy on their new album, What It Takes, but does not take awy much of the enjoyment. Heavy Rock in its infancy was never 100% in tune, the rhythm was not meant to be precise and the vocals were more about passion that chops. Leakage during the recording sessions should not be fixed, but embraced like a long lost friend.
With that in mind, this new collection of songs ticks all the boxes for fist pumping, head banging and breaking out the air guitar. They have managed to the dots between blues, glam, punk, and rough-around-the-edges college rock. As per usual connecting with the opposite sex and all the subsequent trouble that follows, is the main theme. The hectic Hydra Head has all the trappings of getting a moshpit going: it's short and fast. They saved the best for last with the quiet-loud-quiet Mess - a ramshackle slice of grunge trash about fucking up in a major way.
Mad Ones:
Andrew DeVillers: lead vocals, guitar
Russ Fernandes: vocals, bass
Jesse L. Bellon: vocals, drums
What It Takes is released via Fortune Stellar Records (vinyl, CD, digital). Buy it from their website.
Tracks:- What It Takes
- Hydra Head
- Sleepwalker
- Molly Moth
- Last Summer
- Down By Love
- Stranger Stranger
- Drone
- She Talks
- Mess
- 04/12 Manchester, UK @ The Eagle Inn
- 04/13 Eaglescliffe, UK @ Eagle Fest II
- 04/15 Edinburgh,UK @ Sneaky Pete’s
- 04/16 Newcastle, UK@ Little Buildings
- 04/17 Brighton, UK @ The Pipeline
- 04/18 Bristol, UK @ Exchange
- 04/19 Newport, UK @ Le Pub
- 05/01 Hamilton, ON @ Casbah
- 05/03 London, ON @ Socialbowl
- 05/04 Toronto, ON @ Monarch
- 05/25 Montreal, QC @ L'esco
- 06/01 Windsor, ON @ Phog Lounge
HCTF review of Last Forever.