Label: Snakefarm Records

Genre: Alt – Punk Rock

Released: March 7 2025

Track Listing:

1 Eventually,
2 Scared of Glass,
3 Troubadour Moon,
4 Fire in the Cheap Seats,
5 Kunce,
6 Maintain Radio Silence,
7 Blue Moon Over Brinkbum,
8 Hurt People Hurt People,
9 I’ll Be Your Monster,
10 Failure Is the Mother of Success,

When I was a kid growing up, there used to be a TV advert for ‘Harmony Hairspray’. It suggested it left the wearers hair looking so natural and flawless that you’d question “is she or isn’t she?” wearing it. I mention this because with a completely revamped lineup that sees Ginger Wildheart joining forces with three new members that have never been ‘Wildhearts’ before, I find myself asking myself “is it or isn’t it?” The Wildhearts?

It’s not unreasonable to assume, given Ginger on his solo projects has worked with the world and his mum over the years, that this could be viewed more as a solo exercise rather than a Wildhearts release but “fear ye not”, as Frankie Howerd may have once said, because this, ‘The Satanic Rites of The Wildhearts’ is very much the real deal.

‘Satanic Rites Of The Wildhearts’ was produced by Jim Pinder (Bring Me The Horizon, Lotus Eater, While She Sleeps, Bullet For My Valentine) and mixed by Jim Pinder and Carl Bown (Trivium, Machine Head, While She Sleeps, Bullet For My Valentine, Bring Me The Horizon, While She Sleeps), the opening track gets us into the groove in the same way that ‘Dislocated’ opened ‘Renaissance Men’. Dirty, angry, distorted and then, those wonderful melodies that somehow fit when they shouldn’t but always do. ‘Scared Of Glass’ takes us into ‘The Wildhearts’ or as we all call it ‘The White Album’ territory and again, familiarity brings with it acceptance and as the album progresses, what we hear is a mixture of very subtle nods to what the band do and do well. With former Wildheart and Ginger solo mainstay Jon Poole on bass, Bonafide’s Pontus Snibb on drums with ‘so happy to be here that he can’t stop smiling’ Ben Marsden filling CJ’s massive shoes, the mixture of old and new works in the band’s favour and this feels like a true ‘next chapter’ in the band’s evolution.

Some will accuse me of being “a fanboy and therefore biased” but I could equally point out that I’m a fan of CJ’s work, Danny’s bass lines and Ritch’s drumming, none of which makes it feel like this is lacking in any department. The core of all Wildhearts songs have always been written by Ginger and that in itself is why this feels naturally at home. Speaking of writing, ‘Troubadour Moon’, a really moving piece, is the simple tale of a man who writes music just for the love of it, and importantly because he has so much stuff to get out of his system. At a recent album launch show in London Ginger spoke at length about this song, and how art gives comfort to weirdos, and how the only true appreciation of the art is by the artist themselves. It’s a fair point, only the artists truly understands the lyrical content and Ginger is certainly known for his hard-hitting lyrical work. The beauty of this song and the rest on the album though is that they’re open to interpretation, they can be used by people to find solace and more importantly gain strength from the lyrics as they hit and give the listener to hope and push they might need.

‘Kunce’ yes you read that right, brings a smile to the face and guarantees a future live favourite, as it rattles through people that have annoyed, frustrated or hindered the band members over time. There’s a story to how Producer, Jim Pinder’s daughter Eliza, performed the final word on the track which definitely raises a smile. Trying to get your child to swear without making them swear… and succeeding.. skills!

‘Hurt People Hurt People’ fair brings a tear to the eye and deserves a sea of lighters in the air at gigs and then the last one to mention is album closer and chonky boy (clocking in at some 8 minutes) ‘Failure Is The Mother Of Success’. It’s been out for a while and was the first teaser for the fans of what to expect. It’s a bold move as yes, it caters to the more progressive side of the band and makes for an impressive bookend to the album, but it’s also not representative of the rest and as such means the album needs to be heard in full. As a lead single it was an unusual choice BUT what it does do is showcase every style of music The Wildhearts plays essentially making it an album in a song.

Don’t be swayed, open your mind, embrace the new and you will be pleasantly surprised. Another album destined to score highly come the 2025 favourites nominations. Let’s let Ginger have the final say:

“The songs were written during a period of transition, from extremely negative to positive. I realised how much control I have over my mental health, and the songs came from that understanding. There’s everything here – catchy choruses, proper fuck-off riffs, anger, frustration, acceptance and revelation, with plenty of insane detours. The album starts pessimistic and ends up like ‘Ah, so I CAN turn my life around?’

Sometimes you have to start from the very bottom, your darkest point. We have more control over our emotions than we think. We control the outcome by how we respond. Once I started learning that, the songs came pissing out. It’s a hard rock album for people who actually love hard rock!”

To pre-order/pre save ‘Satanic Rites Of The Wildhearts’ go to: https://thewildhearts.tmstor.es/

Score 10/10
Reviewed by Adrian Hextall

What next? UK Tour in March 2025

March 7, 2025: Sheffield Leadmill, England
March 8, 2025: Cambridge Junction, England
March 9, 2025: Manchester O2 Ritz, England
March 11, 2025: Norwich Epic, England
March 13, 2025: Glasgow Garage, Scotland
March 14, 2025: Wolverhampton KK’s Steel Mill, England
March 15, 2025: Nottingham Rock City, England
March 16, 2025: Southampton 1865, England
Support acts Jim Jones All Stars and Dirt Box Disco