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Silver Lining Music (Release Date 20.3.26)
For so long one of rock’s best kept secrets, Tyketto’s mainstream exposure the has grown over the past few years with well-received appearances at broader festivals outside their melodic rock genre and even a detailed Classic Rock magazine feature recently.
Incredibly its been nearly ten years since ‘Reach’ which was a fine album and definitely an improvement on the rather underwhelming ‘Dig in Deep’, the last album with the band’s original line up. While still touring regularly, since then there have been further personnel changes with singer Danny Vaughn now the only original member so this is a particularly timely opportunity to confirm the latest line up can do the business on record as well as they have already proved live.
Opening song and lead off single ‘Higher Than High’ has an awful loot of interesting things going on- the bluesy riff, combined with Ged Rylands’ Hammond organ and even harmonica, reminded me of Danny’s involvement with the ‘Flesh and Blood’ project in the late nineties- an album which disappointed many at the time but was actually one step ahead of the later revival of retro classic rock. Yet it also boasts a catchy chorus with plenty of melodies and final backing vocals and an Aerosmith-like groove in Harry Scott Elliott’s guitar solo.
‘Starts with a Feeling’ begins with a trademark Tyketto acoustic/electric intro and is a little smoother, a love song showing off Danny’s unrivalled ear for a melody and complemented by some fine lead guitar work, before a return to some of that blues rock riffery in ‘Bad for Good’, with another fluent guitar solo and closing ‘na na nas’ making it suitable for a live staple.
The standout track is ‘We Rise’ which begins with a quiet intro before kicking into life, a rousing anthem with big hooks and a positive lyrical message, even if some of the rhymes may be a little predictable. For a band that wrote arguably the greatest ever melodic rock anthem in ‘Forever Young’, this one comes pretty damn to it. Yet there is also a little surprise within, with a synthesiser solo mid-song that could have come from a Styx song or even ELP.
There is a stylistic shift from one song to the next- seventies comparisons continue with the phonetically spelled ‘Donnowhuddidis’ with a naggingly familiar riff and barroom style piano, whereas the more traditionally Tyketto-sounding melodic rocker ‘Closer to the Sun’ has a contrasting verse and chorus, Danny’s voice soaring on the latter with more ‘who-oahs’ in the closing phase of the song. The somewhat quirky, motorcycle themed ‘Harleys & Indians (Riders in the Sky)’ is another departure, a bit of a shuffle and not the strongest on the album though redeemed by some nice harmonica playing at the end.
‘Hit Me Where It Hurts’ is another with a bit of a bluesy feel, but with slick guitar work and a big, and again naggingly familiar chorus hook, then the ballad ‘The Picture’ sees Danny at his vocal finest- indeed the way his strong voice soars with the chorus reminded me of the late, great Jimi Jamison.
The album is also lyrically strong and this is shown in an uplifting closing pair of ‘Far and Away’, another acoustically-driven number, with the added dimension of strings, where the philosophical lyrics (including a rare use of the word ‘conflagrations’) remind me of the type Tony Clarkin wrote for Magnum and ‘The Brave’, another trademark Tyketto anthem celebrating the courage of various everyday people.
Its an extremely diverse album with the odd moment which will not be to everyone’s taste, but also a very strong one, justifying Danny Vaughn’s faith in the revamped line up and leaving them strongly placed to kick on with their recent revival. **** 1/2
Review by Andy Nathan
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MYRATH Breathing Near The Roar (earMUSIC)
DELBHOY KENNEDY Sky’s The Limit (Flip Flop Records)
ALL THEM WITCHES Starting Line (BMG)
HER FURY Use And Abuse (indie)
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