You’ve only got to have seen Luke Spiller with The Struts to know he had grand ambitions. Basically, he looks like the sort of bloke who’d wear spandex and a fur coat to go to Aldi — and he’d pull it off too.
“Devil In Me” is the first journey on the path to realising them. The strings, the feeling he might be at the end of the bar in a jazz club — until it explodes into something massive.
The piano is central here. “If This Isn’t Love” is a real 70s-style Elton John romp, while there’s a bit of Wall of Sound about “The Ending Is Always The Same.” The sax is pure “The River”-era Springsteen. The title track just sounds huge, and it’s meant as a compliment to say it doesn’t sound like it came out in 2025.
At its best — “Magic At Midnight At Mel’s Diner,” for example — this is brilliant. Worthy of Billy Joel, and Spiller as a piano man really works. “She’s Just Like California” moves things into an acoustic, Americana style, while “I’m With Her (But I’m In Love With You)” just opens its heart.
The scope of it all is impressive, it really is. They don’t make them like “Don’t Be Afraid To Love Me” anymore, so Spiller has. In contrast, “The Sound Of Love” is stripped down, but it still feels like the sound of a labour of love.
And then there’s the title track, “Love Will Probably Kill Me Before Cigarettes And Wine.” It’s still in the ballpark of what you’d expect from Spiller — big, 1970s-sounding, and very much as OTT as you’d imagine.
It finishes with “Angel Like You,” a duet with Kendall Rucks, and it sounds like it should be the next Bond theme. That’s when a thought strikes: there’s no point in solo albums that just sound like band stuff. That’s why I’ve always had a lot of time for Jon Bon Jovi’s “Destination Anywhere.” And like that record, this proves Spiller can stand on his own two feet.
