Grabbing our attention this summer with the popular fast paced anthem “All Time Low” hitting number one in the charts, and more recently with the melodic single “Heart Vacancy”, The Wanted are a cool and edgy group defying the cheesy image often associated with boy bands.
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The Wanted
The Wanted
Geffen Records
25 October 2010
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Although originally formed through mass auditioning, and essentially beginning their journey to fame as strangers, the chemistry between Max, Tom, Jay, Nathan, and Siva is obvious, and their voices come together to complement each other perfectly creating a fresh modern sound that may well challenge the likes of Take That.
This self-titled thirteen track album really showcases the group’s versatility, mixing feel good pop tunes, indie sounds, and haunting harmonies, some of which will quickly become most played on your iTunes.
Along with being talented singers, the boys also show a knack for song writing, sharing co-writing rights to five of the albums tracks, including the energetic pop song ‘Say It On The Radio’ with an addictive chorus bound to stick in your head for days. In fact, the album is full of catchy hooks such as the Kings of Leon inspired chanting at the start of ‘Lose my Mind’ or the marching drum beats of “left, left, left right, left” that make ‘Personal Soldier’ another memorable tune.
The harmonious ‘High and Low’, a cover of singer songwriter Greg Laswell’s, is a perfect display of the boys voices; combining the effortless vocals of the group with classical melodies, using just a piano to give it that “live lounge” feel.
Another track to watch out for is the more daring ‘Let’s Get Ugly’, which combines Ennio Morricone’s renowned theme tune to The Good, The Bad, The Ugly with a foot tapping pop beat. Some may fall instantly in love with this quirky song, while others may be a bit sceptical of its style. Either way, it definitely stands out in the album.
The album utilizes string sections combined with edgy beats within many of the songs to really give the group an individual sound. The final few tracks also have a more rock inspired tone using upbeat guitar and percussion rifts that make the album almost hard to place in terms of genre. It is safe to say that the album has a large range in terms of sound and taste, and hopefully the fan base will expand to more than just the usual demographic of screaming girls we usually find following boy bands.
Overall, the album is bound to please and frankly I can’t see them hitting an all time low at any point in the near future, these boys are here to stay!
