By Monk
Despite have graced the deathdecks and stages of the Überverse for almost 40 years, it could be argued that Tyketto have been surprisingly laconic in their recorded output, with this being only their sixth album in that four decade-spanning career. But, then, their journey has been one taken by so many travellers along rock ‘n’ roll’s rocky and rollin’ highway, with break-ups, disagreements and record company screwovers and many other obstacles placed in their path: but, for the past two decades or so, frontman and founder Danny Vaughn has become an assertive figure, very much in charge of his, and his band’s destiny, and very much on his own terms. Now, ten long years after their last studio outing, Tyketto are once again back in the fight, with a line-up of both artists and songs that the singer himself regards as their strongest and most coherent in the project’s storied career.
Things certainly get off to a confident start, with a soaring opener that takes us ‘Higher Than High’, its dense opening bass rumble slowly evolving into one of those joyous fists in the air, sing yourself hoarse high flying (sic) anthems which Vaughn has made his trademark. ‘Starts With A Feeling’ kicks in with another of his beloved features, an acoustic guitar, before developing into a soul-infused swagger, while ‘Bad For Good’ is an ebullient, feelgood flyer with another of those trademark Tyketto features – multi-layered vocal harmonies which soar and enervate.
Lead single ‘We Rise’ kicks in more like one of Vaughn’s solo songs (the intro actually reminds me of that from ‘Shadow Of King John’ on his recently re-issued ‘Myths, Legends And Stories’ outing) before developing into a typically energetic slice of AOR, again characterized by massive vocal harmonies and underpinned by another searing solo from Harry Scott Elliott.
The weirdly titled ‘Donnowhuddidis’ is perhaps the album’s most diverse song, switching from straightahead rock to bar-room boogie to r’n’b rambunctiousness with an easy alacrity which can be accredited to Ged Rylands’ superb keyboard work, which manages the album’s mood swings with aplomb and practised panache while losing none of the necessary emotional pull.
Ironically, I think the album’s title track, which serves as its pivotal midpoint, is one of the weaker tracks: it just gel with me, for some weird reason, but that’s just a purely personal taste note. ‘Harleys And Indians (Riders In The Sky)’ is another track that sounds like it would initially have been destined for one of Vaughn’s solo outings, but exemplifies the deeply personal level of his commitment to the band that he has adapted it to this scenario, providing at the same time a nice linguistic and musical counterpart to the rest of the album.
‘Hit Me Where It Hurts’ is another of those classic AOR punchers that would have dominated the radio and music television rotation lists back in the day when music rather than moolah mattered, while ‘The Picture’ finally brings us to the obligatory power ballad, it’s chorus possessing an almost gospel feel as Vaughn’s vocals shimmer and shine, pulling on both his own heartstrings and those of the listener.
The fiddle-fuelled ‘Far And Away’ again demonstrates how closely Vaughn’s band contributions are aligned to his own solo work, with many of the tunes able to flit comfortably one between the other, while closer ‘The Brave’ is a suitably upbeat conclusion, a defiant message of support to those who put their lives in danger to save others but also, in its own way, a humble thank you, if you will, to the fans for sticking by the band in its traversing the decades their career has spanned.
And it is those fans, many of whom have crossed continents to catch their favourite band (and singer), who love this album, absorb every second of it, revel in its every nuance, and sing every word back at Mr V and the beys when they head out on the road in a few short weeks’ time…
- ‘Closer To The Sun‘ is released today (Friday 20 March).
- Tyketto tour in April:
They then play the Steelhouse Festival on Sunday 26 July and Belfast’s Empire Music Hall on Friday 27 November.