There seem to be plenty of artists these days who have come through the talent-show route. Only the other day, we went to a country gig where the woman opening the show had been on one of the reality TV programmes. That is also the case with Sam Cieri, the singer in Nicotine Dolls.
Cieri, though, withdrew from “America’s Got Talent”, explaining that the producers wanted him to continue as a solo artist rather than represent his band. Fair play to him. If you believe in what you are doing, sometimes you have to back yourself.
Giving your second album your band’s name feels like a statement of intent, too. Bringing in Marti Frederiksen, whose CV includes Aerosmith and Ozzy Osbourne, to co-produce it with Cieri makes another. There is ambition here, and the songs have plenty to back it up.
“Wild” opens with a bluesy, slightly primal darkness. As Cieri sings about going wild in the middle of the night, you know what he is after. There is something compelling about the way it prowls into view, and “Gimme Sympathy” follows with an absolute wail of a voice, as if he has something really important to say and needs to make sure everyone hears it.
“Here To California” changes the vibe completely. You can almost hear the roof rolling down on the car as it heads along the open road towards Malibu, or somewhere like that. Certainly somewhere more inviting than the cold, grey day I am typing this on. It is a song with escape running through it, and a chorus that makes the journey seem a very good idea indeed.
“To The Wolves” adds a touch of soul, and a word here for the solos from guitarist John Newsome. Cieri’s voice might be the thing that grabs you first, but there is plenty happening around him. “Drive Away”, meanwhile, has the feel of a timeless anthem of heartbreak, the sort of song that sounds familiar because the emotions at its heart always will be.
What keeps this interesting is the way the record moves. The percussion occasionally takes it away from the more primal approach of the opening songs, and “Little Games” is a fine example. There is something quite funky about it, a groove that gives the band another angle from which to attack.
There is so much texture in the acoustics of “Punch Drunk Lovin’”, too. They understand the value of these details, and by the time “I’m Right Here” arrives, it feels like a very different album from the one those early songs suggested.
“Wanted You to Know” underlines just how wonderfully they straddle the worlds of pop and rock. They have the hooks for one and the musical weight for the other, and seem entirely comfortable bringing the two together. “Going Numb” even has a touch of Monster Truck about it, which is not something I say lightly.
“Enemy” almost brings things full circle, returning to the darker feel of the opening, before “Just Enough” offers what might be the highlight of the whole thing. If the idea was to save the best until last, there is a very good argument that they have managed it.
There is every reason to suspect we will be hearing a lot more from Nicotine Dolls over the next few years. This is a band with so much talent, so much to say, and the songs to make people listen. They seem to have everything they need.
Rating: 8/10
