Album review : TREAT – The Wild Card

Frontiers Music [Release date : 21.11.25]

Wild Card is Swedish melodic rock band, Treat’s 10th studio album since the debut in 1985. They’ve enjoyed the same line up since reforming 20 years ago.

There’s not a moment here that isn’t just brimming over with celebratory melodic rock, ringing, zinging guitars and clattering, clanging rhythms (and joyous keyboard fills and frills).

The fabulously kinetic intro to ‘Out With A Bang’, an electric, electrifying opener, leads directly to another 12 tracks of insanely effortless melodic rock, skilfully produced, inventively arranged, songs with considerable emotional heft.

The band’s high-sheen recording craft is the perfect treatment for ‘Night Brigade’ and ‘In The Blink Of An Eye’, two sophisticated blasts of toughened up melodic rock that come late in the album.

There’s depth here too. As we noted when reviewing the the singles ‘1985’ and ‘Adam and Evil’ some months back. The latter’s confessional tale of rebellious youth, and the former’s nostalgia hued story of a failed relationship fit neatly within the album’s sonic images, warmly reflecting the story in each track.

The anthemic, twisting, turning, ‘Rodeo’ and ‘Hand On Heart’ get close to the Bro Firetribe / Poodles/ WET sound, dazzling us with slick harmonic footwork and heartstopping hooks.

Arguably, the overly sentimental lyrics on the balladic ‘Heaven’s Waiting’, a celebration of life and love, performed with a meticulous and dramatic hand, lets down a wonderful melody and arrangement. But it’s easy to forgive when it’s followed by the marvellous string driven melodic rock stomp, ‘Mad Honey’.

They sneak in the occasional hint of boyband commerciality, like ‘Endeavour’ … a song with a solid melodic rock soul and a poppified modern edge. Nice touch.

It’s just another standout track on an album that brings together all the bands classic melodic rock strengths.

Album of the year? *****

Review by Brian McGowan

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Power Plays w/c 1 December 2025

We feature all the artists selected in this sequence in 2025.

Featured Albums w/c 1 December 2025

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003 – 2025 (Singer Songwriter)

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