Old School Reasons – Do You Wanna Tangle?
9/10
Do You Wanna Tangle? is a great new release from Old School Reasons and a CD I can definitely see myself listening to a lot over the coming months. One thing that really struck me about this album as I opened the cover was the striking artwork on the CD contained within – I loved the image of the two sparring skeletons and was subsequently very interested to see how the CD sounded. Needless to say, I was not disappointed.
The album opens with Until The Clocks Run Out, which also has an accompanying video. The introduction is nice and light-hearted, which gets things going well, and it’s just a catchy tune – I can see why this was the one they chose to make a video for! I really liked the tone of frontman Mark’s vocals, an opinion which stayed with me for the duration of the album.
Second track U & Me was a similarly catchy track, energetic and fast-paced with a big chorus. Only just passing the two-minute mark, it is sharp and to-the-point, yet still swiftly got stuck in my head as soon as I’d heard it for the first time! I was very excited to hear the track entitled 27, mainly because 27 is my favourite number! The song is about the “27 Club”, the term used to describe musicians that died aged 27. Lyrically, it is one of the strongest tracks of the album and really gives the listener a lot to think about, which is really good.
Long Haul is a slightly slower-paced number. I really liked this one, it’s a sweet little number with another example of great lyricism. I have to admit that I rarely pay attention to lyrics (I’m definitely more of an “if it sounds good, I don’t care what they’re singing about” person) but this band is a little different. I like the meaning behind the words and whoever is in charge of writing lyrics has a wonderful way with words!
Run4YourLife is one of the catchiest of the album. Whilst the chorus can get a little repetitive, it still gets stuck in your head at the drop of a hat and the song leads nicely into Dance With Me Tonight. I love the guitar in the middle and the whole tone of the song. It has a light-hearted sound to it that just makes me want to smile when it starts to play – maybe this one would be a good track to dance to?
You can tell the album is coming to a close with penultimate track Boy Meets Girl. It’s an energetic track which feels a little like the opening track, so it’s almost like the album has come full circle – which means it is perfect to listen to on a loop, and the closing track Truth In Time is a big triumphant song that is an apt choice to end the album with.
My only real complaint about Do You Wanna Tangle? is that it’s a fairly safe album, not really straying from their comfort zone, but honestly, Old School Reasons do what they do extremely well – so at the end of the day, I don’t think it really matters. If you like your rock sounding a little more on the ‘old school’ side, then this is a band for you!
