The Struts

[Iron MikeyJ]

I've recently become aware of them, and haven't found a thread here on the forum. Have you guys heard of them? If so, what do you think? I gotta be honest, I think Kiss This is a pretty good song, I've been digging on it. They have a few others I like as well. 

 

 

[Gordon Comstock]

Roll Up and the version of Body Talks with Kesha are pretty good... their first album had some good songs and I was anticipating their second album, but it was a letdown.

 

 

 

[Iron MikeyJ]

I agree, the first album is better, but Young & Dangerous is growing on me. I'm really liking this band, blows Greta Van Fleet AWAY imo.

[appetite4illusions]

I always appreciated how catchy "Kiss This," is.

Can't say anything else I've heard from them is on that level.

[Iron MikeyJ]

Body Talks has a great groove imo. The chorus isnt anything special, but THAT groove makes it worth it for me. 

[ZoSoRose]

These guys are rad

[soon]

Not really my thing. They come across as rather prefabricated to my ears. 

And one of the prefabbed ingredients seems to be top-40-rock-infused-country of all things. The drum machine at the start of the first track in OP really screams New Country to me. Its almost like the Trasatlanticism of US Blues (John Lee Hooker), to British Blues Rock (Cream), back to Aerosmith, type thing. This is elements of New Country given back to rock, across the pond.

Third track in OP has some Queen vibes. I like that despite the fact that the singer has a passing resemblance to Mercury, which would take us back to my initial criticism. But I dig that track the most, none-the-less.

Whereas Greta Van Fleet offends my sensibilities, the Struts are all good but they dont really captivate me.

[rocknroll41]

Could Have Been Me and Kiss This are decent songs, and they all seem like nice guys based on what I’ve seen in interviews and stuff. Haven’t listened to anything beyond the singles, though.

its cool how similar (appearance-wise, stage presence-wise, and even vocally) the frontman is to Freddie Mercury. He did Under Pressure with the Foo Fighters once, and killed it!

they also opened for GnR once in 2016. Wonder if Axl met them, and noticed the Queen similarities.

Edited April 18, 2019 by rocknroll41

[Iron MikeyJ]

1 hour ago, soon said:

Not really my thing. They come across as rather prefabricated to my ears. 

And one of the prefabbed ingredients seems to be top-40-rock-infused-country of all things. The drum machine at the start of the first track in OP really screams New Country to me. Its almost like the Trasatlanticism of US Blues (John Lee Hooker), to British Blues Rock (Cream), back to Aerosmith, type thing. This is elements of New Country given back to rock, across the pond.

Third track in OP has some Queen vibes. I like that despite the fact that the singer has a passing resemblance to Mercury, which would take us back to my initial criticism. But I dig that track the most, none-the-less.

Whereas Greta Van Fleet offends my sensibilities, the Struts are all good but they dont really captivate me.

I agree with the "prefab" comment, that's my biggest issue with them. They DO have a sense of "prefab" to them. That was initially hard for me to get past. What did it for me though, is the frontman. Dude is generally talented. Let's be honest here, guitar players are a dime a dozen, but how many great NEW frontmen are out there? So that's what started winning me over. Yes, he has some Freddie Mercury vibes to him, but it feels more organic than Greta Van Fleet does. Plus I dont think he sounds like Freddie vocally all that much, more his own sound. 

Also, let's be honest here, if Queen NEVER existed, but was a new band now, how would we react to them? I honestly feel songs like Killer Queen would get BASHED in today's day and age. So when you look at them for who they are, and not who they are not, I think they are interesting. 

Dont get me wrong, I'm not saying they are the saviors of rock or anything like that. For all I know they might flame out 1 year from now. Having said that, I think they have more potential than Greta Van Fleet does, or any other newer rock band.

[soon]

11 minutes ago, Iron MikeyJ said:

I agree with the "prefab" comment, that's my biggest issue with them. They DO have a sense of "prefab" to them. That was initially hard for me to get past. What did it for me though, is the frontman. Dude is generally talented. Let's be honest here, guitar players are a dime a dozen, but how many great NEW frontmen are out there? So that's what started winning me over. Yes, he has some Freddie Mercury vibes to him, but it feels more organic than Greta Van Fleet does. Plus I dont think he sounds like Freddie vocally all that much, more his own sound. 

Also, let's be honest here, if Queen NEVER existed, but was a new band now, how would we react to them? I honestly feel songs like Killer Queen would get BASHED in today's day and age. So when you look at them for who they are, and not who they are not, I think they are interesting. 

Dont get me wrong, I'm not saying they are the saviors of rock or anything like that. For all I know they might flame out 1 year from now. Having said that, I think they have more potential than Greta Van Fleet does, or any other newer rock band.

Good point about the front man, he does seem to have the x factor. To my ears he sounds like a mid range mercury timbre on Could Have Been Me, though.

I could be mistaken about the New Country thing, but Im pretty sure its part of the landscape. Like with the right New Country act, they could share a tour together. Theres also a dash of Steel Panther imho (not in a 'dirty' way). And thats the thing, maybe breaking the 4th wall and exposing the kitch is a-okay. That can be a legit vibe. I mean like whats more respectable, Steven Tyler wearing stage clothes as if thats just how the gods of rock dress, or The Struts being perfectly clear that they like to toy with fashion in a more playful way? Im for it.

And yeah, any Queen comparisons should serve as a lesson to GVF about the difference between 'influenced by' and 'pandering to.'