The Wildhearts – Diagnosis EP Review

The Wildhearts’ music may be timeless, but if one thing marks them out as belonging to a certain era, it’s their dedication to b sides, mini albums and EPs, all formats that seem to be less popular in the digital era. More to the point, a Wildhearts b side was more often than not the equal to the band’s album cuts, a fact evidenced by superlative tracks such as 29x the pain, beautiful thing you and mindslide, not to mention the untouchable brilliance of fishing for luckies, a mini album that features the searing brilliance of inglorious not to mention the towering single-in-its-own-right, sick of drugs. In short, when the Wildhearts drop a mini album or new EP, you can be damned sure that it’s no mere after thought and so, when it was announced that the Wildhearts, having made us wait an eternity for Renaissance men, were back with a new EP, it was definitely time to break out the bunting.

The title track of the EP, diagnosis, just happens to be one of the finest tracks from the recent album, a slow-building gem that emerges from a welter of feedback to burst into joyous life as a punk-glam monstrosity with stacked heels, ripped jeans and a chorus to die for, the vocal harmonies sitting beautifully amidst wildfire riffs before shooting off in a Sex Pistols direction for a few glorious seconds as Ginger yells out “you’re not an animal”. So far, so familiar to anyone who bought the album (and if not, why the hell not?!), so it’s god damn that really sets the adrenalin flowing as  the band take the mellifluous harmonies of the beach boys and batter them with giant, concrete-weighted riffs. It’s glorious, it’s life-affirming and it will leave you with a giant, shit-eating grin plastered all over your face by the time its three-and-a-half minutes come sweatily to an end. Barely pausing for breath, the band unleash a song about drinking with such gleeful abandon that they barely have the space or time to fit the lyrics into the verse, Ginger gabbling like a maniac as the guitars blaze around him. When things do settle into a rock ‘n’ roll chorus that’s gleefully incongruous, there’s only just enough time for the band to squeeze in another killer riff before the song slams to an end.

With the Wildhearts apparently on an amphetamine-fuelled-recording-binge, the first time is a saccharine pop-rock beast that, in just under four minutes, shows just how wrong the likes of Blink 182 have been getting it all these years, the band deftly combining nostalgia with a contemporary love of life that is entirely irresistible. Fast, fun and built around a suspiciously addictive melody, the first time is the first, last and only word on how that much-benighted genre, punk-pop, should sound, even going so far as to boast a classic rock solo that sizzles the fretboard. A gargantuan, grinding riff sits behind That’s my girl, a track that could easily sit on the aforementioned fishing for luckies (still the gold-standard of mini-albums) and fit right in. It’s got it all – melody, monstrous riffs and, of course, that inescapable feeling that the Wildhearts were having the time of their lives as they tracked the song. It leaves the obliquely-titled LOCAC to bring the EP to a close, the band tipping the nod to the vastly underrated endless nameless with a brutally distorted, unstoppably vicious three-minute blast that buries an addictive, off-kilter melody under so many layers of guitar, you need a diamond-tipped drill to extricate it. Needless to say, it’s fucking genius and the perfect closer to an EP that simply refuses to let up from start to finish.

At a time when rock music seems to be increasingly polished into mundanity, music fans everywhere should celebrate the rebirth of The Wildhearts. One of the few bands on the planet unafraid to pair the most glorious of melodies with the most ridiculous of riffs, the band’s recent outing at Bloodstock and, before that, at Bearded Theory, only serves to cement the fact the band’s cross-genre appeal. A true force of nature, to have the band firing on all cylinders is an absolute joy and this EP is pretty much the most perfect representation yet of the band’s unbridled passion for what they do. Beg, borrow, steal… do what you have to, but get a copy of this EP, it is an essential addition to any music fan’s collection, and it will leave you sweaty, exhausted and absolutely alive. All hail The Wildhearts. 10

EP Detail:

The Wildhearts are proud to announce the release of the Diagnosis mini album on October 4^th through Graphite Records. This six track mini album, features five brand new songs and is released as a limited edition special white vinyl with pale blue powder splatter 10’’ (to look like a pill) and as a regular black vinyl 10” and CD.  All 3 physical formats will also include an exclusive bespoke inner gatefold comic strip illustrated by the award winning Hunt Emerson, who last worked with the band on the Earth Vs’ cover and their classic logo.

The Diagnosis mini albumfollows the success of Renaissance Men, their first full-length studio album in 10 years, which gave the band’s classic line up of Ginger, CJ, Ritchie and Danny, their highest chart entry since 1994’s P.H.U.Q, when it debuted at number 11.

“Well fuck me we dropped our first new album in 10 years back in May and blow me down if we didn’t drop a humdinger of an album full of monster riffs and razor sweet melodies. Well, we’ve not only gone back in to the studio to record 5 new songs that will be released as the Diagnosis mini album in October, we’re hitting the road too. We have some great supports confirmed already, The Professionals and Janus Stark and I know there are some other amazing bands to be added to the rest of the tour.  You’re going to love the new mini album and the surprises we have on there and the tour is going to be one you should not miss. You can’t keep a good band down.” – C.J Wildheart.

The lead track Diagnosis is about “mental health institutions and the medical health profession in this country, and about how it’s letting people down. How the system is broken, and how the suicide rate is not getting any less. Depression and mental illness isn’t an issue that attacks any one type of person. Whether you’re homeless or if you’re rich,  this illness is taking people out on a regular basis. The government has pulled most of the funding into mental health research, and as a result people are still ignorant about it.Education is everything. And the more people talk about depression, the more need there’ll be for education, and the more people will want educating about an issue that doesn’t just affect the people suffering from it, but it affects everyone around them. And when someone is in a desperate position and their hope is taken away, then they’re at the mercy of an illness that wants them dead. There’s nothing more important in the world than education on mental health issues.” – Ginger Wildheart 

Diagnosis track listing

1. Diagnosis.
2. God Damn.
3. A Song About Drinking.
4. The First Time.
5. That’s My Girl.
6. LOCAC.

To pre-order the Diagnosis mini album go to: https://ffm.to/wildhearts-diagnosis

To coincide with the release of Diagnosis, The Wildhearts’ play a10 date UK tour. This tour will start in Brighton at the Concorde 2 on Saturday 5^th October and concludes at Booking Hall in Dover on Tuesday 22^nd October. 

“Can’t wait to get back out on tour. I’m one of those people that could live in a tour bus” – Ginger WildheartCreatively brilliant, The Wildhearts play a distinctive fusion of hard rock, perfectly complimented by contemporary melodies. With a career spanning 30 years The Wildhearts helped change the landscape of British rock through the 90’s, and to this day they haven’t shown any sign of slowing down. Miss these shows at your peril. 

The Wildhearts Renaissance Men tour part 2 with special guests The Professionals and Janus Stark on the shows marked *

*October

Sat 5^th Brighton       Concorde 2

*Sun 6^th Reading            Sub 89

*Mon 7^th Chester Live Rooms

*Tue 8^th Hull Welly

*Thur 10^th Holmfirth  Picturedrome 

Tue 15^th Cambridge Junction 

Wed 16^th Bath  Komedia 

Thur 17^th Southampton Engine Room

Mon 21^st Wolverhampton KK’s Steel Mill 

Tue 22^nd Dover Booking Hall

November 

Fri 29^th Buckley Tivoli

European shows 

October

Fri 11^th      Helsinki             Virgin Oil and Co. Finland

Sat  12^th     Stockholm        Fryhuset              Sweden

Sun  13^th  Oslo  Pa Bryn Norway   Sold Out

Thu 24^th      Amsterdam        Q Factory          Netherlands

Fri  25^th      Essen                Turock Germany

Sat 26^th      Paris                 Backstage France

Sun 27^th      Ooestende         Manuscript Belgium

November

Sat 30^th      Madrid Sala Spain

Tickets and ticket bundles with new album pre-orders are available at: https://www.omerch.eu/shop/thewildhearts