I’ve been a fan of Massive Wagons for some time, in the north-west of England you’d literally have to be living under a rock to not have heard their name and their reputation for live shows. Playing old school rock with an infectious energy that keeps it fresh an up to date, they’ve always been somewhat convention-defying. Their Earache debut Full Nelson has been anticipated in many quarters with no shortage of anticipation. There’s a real buzz surrounding them at the minute, from fighting with local councils over pub murals, to hoping to be the first band from Lancaster to make it into the top 40 in the UK, make no bones about it this album has the potential to do just that.
From the infectious lead single opening track ‘Under No Illusion’ which kicks off with a confident brashness that you’d associate with Massive Wagons, but there’s a little bit extra. Previous albums were excellent, Welcome to the World was my #1 album of the year, so to say they’ve pushed it up a notch is really saying something.
‘China Plates’ is another excellent track showing off one of the huge strengths of Massive wagons, the lyrics. A meme-tastic critique of the double-edged sword that is social media, this is a real gem of a track. The awesomely titled ‘Billy Balloon Head’ is a good foot stomping anthem dedicated to knob heads everywhere. ‘Sunshine Smile’ has an almost Motley Crue feel to it, a good raunchy rock song with another sing-along chorus, it definitely has a summary feel to it and is a little bit different from their usual output.
‘Nothern Boy’ breaks things up with an almost ballad, an ode to growing up in the north of England, again with some wonderful lyrics which really paint that mental picture, this is coupled with some lovely solo’s. This track demonstrated beautifully that Massive wagons really speak to the listener, not hollow platitudes, or shout along anthems with no real soul to them, a massive wagons song could be considered a work of poetry in its own right.
‘Robot (trust in me)’ shows more of this more mature songwriting whilst being a throwback to the glory days of rock, Back to the stack is a blatant Status Quo homage and a tribute the late Rick Parfitt. They wear their heart on their sleeves and it’s really refreshing, Raise your glass to Rick because I’m raising mine.
‘Hate Me’, could make anyone want to dance along, traditional British rock with the Wagons added a sprinkle of anthemic awesomeness. ‘Last on the List’, is enough to have you shouting your throat raw at one of their live shows, bouncing up and down arm in arm with someone equally drunk you’ve just met. ‘Welcome to the party, everybody argue amongst yourselves’ is one of the more interesting of catchy choruses, Barry Mills fantastic way of juxtaposing light and darkness really does work incredibly well. Finishing on the ‘Ballad of Verdun Hayes’, an ode to the 101-year-old rebel who became the world’s oldest skydiver, ‘Everybody Riot, compensation claims’ somehow manages to capture the contradictory nature of modern life with ease.
It’s poetry without the usual pretentiousness. Frequently the lyrics juxtapose the shiny façade of modern life with its barely hidden underbelly in a way which is witty and infectious. I find myself listening as much for the next turn of phrase as I do the music. It’s a potent package. In a similar, but not at all similar, way to Acid Reign who have a reputation as a party band, but also pack some hard-hitting lyrics, Massive wagons manage to get the party started in a relentless infectious manner, but also when you sit down and listen to what they’re saying there’s a lot of depth. Holding up a mirror to society as a whole and laughing at the joke of it all. Never take life too seriously
For some reason they’ve added two re-recordings or remasters of the stronger songs from welcome to the world at the end, ‘Ratios’ and ‘Tokyo’ which as great as they are, seem a touch out of place tacked on at the end. Their addition seems a little odd tbh but does serve to demonstrate the giant leap forward that massive wagons have made since their last album.
Maybe they’ll actually be the first band from Lancaster to make it to the top ten, maybe even they’ll actually get put on the road to Tokyo. This is easily my album of the month.
9.5/10
RICH PRICE