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If you tell people you like Europe, you sometimes get this little pitying smile and a comment like “glam, really?” Yes really. It’s not just If you tell people you like Europe, you sometimes get this little pitying smile and a comment like “glam, really?” Yes really. It’s not just one of the major influences for my favorite flavor of metal, it’s actually great fun in and of itself. And, as The Struts prove, it’s also far from just a relic of the 80s. The British rockers are coming out with their second album later this month and you better watch out for this one.



These guys combine the swagger and musical prowess of Queen with a hint of alternative 90s rock and tinge the whole thing with just the right amount of pop. The result is a classic sound that sounds contemporary. And really good. My personal favorite is the opening track, “Body Talks” – an uncompromisingly fun little number that demands only one thing from its audience: dance.



Young & Dangerous is surprisingly varied. After the first three high energy tracks one might be forgiven to think that they’ve got this band pegged. And then comes “Bulletproof Baby”, dominated by a mid-tempo beat and vocals that sound almost like The Struts just switched singers one third into the album.



And that’s just the first step in changing it all up. By the end of the record, the band oscillates between paying tribute to Queen, conjuring up The Offspring, and doing whatever they feel like in between. And after a beautiful closer in “Ashes (Part 2)”, they throw in a second version of “Body Talks”, duetting the song with Kesha. And it just works. That goes for both the pop singer’s engagement in a song that could have easily taken her too far into uncharted territory and for the album as a whole. Hugely entertaining, experimental here and there and just refreshing and familiar in perfect intervals, Young & Dangerous is right up the alley of those who like glam but aren’t stuck in the past. … Expand