As with the second album, Red Blooded Years eventually grew on me like 'weeds do on safe houses.' There are a few gem tracks, but some I'd rather just pretend didn't exist.
The album kicks off with Catch Alight and The Runaround which falls straight into that catchy aKING pop-rock sound. Kick Me and So Close are also classic aKING sing-and-dance-along anthems. You can't really fault these and they'll probably be iPod favourites.
My current favourite track is lucky number three, the rockabilly stirring Cut-Throat Tongue & Razor which allows Laudo to demonstrate that signature deep-throated, gut-wrenching, pelvic thrust of a delivery to important lines and words - love this one; it will be a live crowd-pleaser for sure.
The first half of the album is fairly good, easy listening at its best, but then track six heralds a trip downhill for the second half. Whilst Holding On is very strong (in a VH1 ballad kind of way), it feels like it could happily live on a Tree63 album - a bit Christian rock, schmaltzy and dated, not really one of our favourites. Neither is the following soft-cock-rock track All in the Wind which sounds like it belongs on the soundtrack of some cheesy Meg Ryan romcom (ick). I prefer my aKING served with a far more decent sized serving of edge. In fact All in the Wind, you should blow right off this album; be gone with you!
There is no denying new member Andrew Davenport's influence. That distinctive Thieve-vibe comes through quite strongly in First Brush. Not really loving this track right now though as it's a tiny bit too teeny-bopperish.
Luckily Weak Man's World and its catchy chorus save the second half of the album from being a complete fail, as does the last track, the instrumental The Sleeping Sound. True to the aKING formula, they end off this album with a beautiful, more stripped down piece of music. As with Shine Your Light on Dutch Courage and Know Your Bones on Against All Odds, The Sleeping Sound beautifully punctuates this album.
So I think I'm going to give Red Blooded Years a tentative thumbs up. There are some flashes of brilliance, a few cringe-worthy moments but, on the whole it's an enjoyable easy listen. It's not going to change your life but there are some good interpretive dance tracks on there.
Written by Ruth Cooper with help from Natalie Jardine
