Do you want to know why Massive Wagons are fantastic?
This—this is why.
“I’m not selling my soul for rock ‘n’ roll; I’m a loser, and I’m 40,” sings Barry Mills. “I’m not wishing I was back in the USA because I come from Morecambe, where the skies are grey”
Every single rock cliché is ended there because Massive Wagons don’t deal in them. “Earth to Grace” proves that, in fairness.
It starts with “Sleep Forever,” heavier than usual, perhaps reflecting its subject matter. “I’m living on the inside of my own head,” suggests Baz; and given they’ve never been shy to discuss mental health matters, you can only applaud the honesty.
“Missing on TV” is, if you will, more like the usual MW playbook. Our ruling classes are in the firing line, but it ain’t half catchy.
It’s what they do. It’s why they are so good.
Where they really do score these days is in the variety of their material. “Night Skies”—if it were 1989 and Bryan Adams had written it—goes gold. It’s got a hit single tattooed through it, if such a thing existed.
Never shy of a guest on their records, Hundred Reasons’ Colin Doran lends himself to “The Good Die Young.” “We will die on this hill,” he sings, and that, I’d guess, is one of integrity—because you can’t imagine Wagons compromising for anyone.
The first time I saw them must be getting on for ten years ago, opening for Ginger Wildheart, and so the song “All We Got” seems autobiographical, given there’s never been an audience they didn’t want to win over—and usually do.
Never mind anything else; they are just a fantastic band who knows how to write great songs. “Cool Like a Fox” has a similar groove to Bon Jovi’s “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead,” but the lyrics of positivity are pure Wagons.
And if there’s a touch of classic ’90s sounds about “Fun While It Lasted,” then it’s exceptionally well done, and the fact they always want to push the boundaries a little means we get “Whatever Makes You Happy” and its swagger.
“Underdog” is surely about them. All twin-guitar quasi-metal—after all, when they got into arenas opening for Quo, it felt like they’d won for us all.
In this context, “Rabbit Hole” can be seen almost as the encore, potty-mouthed and punky; it sees the album end with Mills proclaiming, “this song fucking sucks”—which it most assuredly does not.
Nothing they do does. Instead, “Earth to Grace” feels like a natural progression—one indeed, that a band that is well into its second decade should make.
Confident, classy, and calculated to move things on just the right amount to keep it fresh but not to alienate anyone.
It might be how it’s done over in Trumpland, in Morecambe, though, it works brilliantly.
Rating: 8.5/10
REVIEW: MASSIVE WAGONS – EARTH TO GRACE (2024)
Published:
