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Frontiers [Release date 10.05.24]
The Treatment have released their much-anticipated 6th studio album, “Wake Up The Neighbourhood”, after teasing us with singles that could only hint at the epic masterpiece that was to follow.
For the uninitiated, The Treatment are a 5-piece rock band, formed in 2008 in Cambridge, who deliver a modern take on absolute classic rock with blistering enthusiasm and energy.
The influences are clear but span decades, listen and you can hear hints of DIO, Slade, AC/DC to Kid Rock and Nickelback, that combined with Tom Rampton’s vocal range and the band’s killer musicianship, this is a masterclass in classic rock revivalism.
The Treatment’s back catalogue includes “This Might Hurt” (2011), “Running With The Dogs” (2014), “Generation Me” (2016), “Power Crazy” (2019), and “Waiting For Good Luck” (2021), which was the album of 2021 for me.
Notwithstanding their own catalogue, they have shared the stage with legendary acts like KISS, Mötley Crüe, Steel Panther, Thin Lizzy, and Alice Cooper – they are immense live, even bigger than the albums suggest, truly a class act on the rock scene.
So, what can “Wake Up The Neighbourhood” deliver, the bar has been set so high, can The Treatment deliver another belter….. the singles (‘Let’s Wake Up This Town’, ‘Back To The 1970’s’ and ‘When Thunder And Lightning Strikes’) released so far suggest we are in for a treat.
“We wanted to create an album that pays homage to the golden era of rock ‘n roll while infusing our own modern twist,” says the band. “With ‘Wake Up The Neighbourhood’, we’ve pushed ourselves to new heights and crafted an album that we’re truly proud of.” Time to have a listen and see what we have got!
1. Let’s Wake Up This Town – from Tom’s opening rallying call, this is setting the scene for an absolutely classic rock ‘n’ roll single let alone album, surely this is enough to wake up the masses to the fact that rock is well and truly alive, this established band deserve more attention in the rock community. Watch the video here
2. Back To The 1970′s – this track is Glam rock at its finest, upbeat and fun showcasing Tom’s vocal style perfectly, the guitar solo is sweet perfection in this foot-stomping crowd pleaser. Let’s do it all again indeed!
3. When Thunder and Lightning Strikes has a much heavier opening groove and serious guitar riffage, I absolutely love this track and can imagine many air guitars in flight.
4. This Fire Still Burns keeps up the high energy, fast-paced rock with clever lyrics, the songwriting throughout the album is clever and speaks to us all, “don’t put your trust in me. I’m a catastrophe. ” This track is off the scale.
5. Man On The Highwire gives you story telling at its finest, crafting that imagery of the Circus and the thrills of watching the acts, with hearts in our mouths, are we all secretly hoping for a spill or a near miss? “Look up, look up look up because I’m the man here to thrill you all, because you want to see me fall”. I found myself returning to this track and its opening bouncy rhythm time and time again – now decided it is my favourite track for the storytelling and the musicianship.
6. I Can’t Wait No Longer is an arm waving, crowd swaying softer, retro vibe track with great harmonisation.
7. Don’t Make No Difference – This will blow your cobwebs away, very AC/DC “Live and let live, it’s the only way I know”, blistering pace delivering a masterclass in rock again, heavier with great rhythm and groove showcasing the whole band
8. Fire Me Up – another belter, this album just keeps building and building, this pace is relentless, a hurricane indeed!
9. Free Yourself is a softer song, with a little soul searching and motivating people to basically look within themselves “You’ve got to free yourself, don’t live for no one else”
10. Kick You Around – perhaps the track is reminiscent of (poor) social behaviours in the current climate, encouraging people to stand their ground and not let people kick them around. This is a drum driven track showcasing Dhani and all of his skills
11. I’ve Got My Mind Made Up (and I ain’t ever gonna change it) had me from the get-go this is a really positive uplifting track,” I leave my worries all behind me to walk the sunny side of the street” what a great way to sign off a phenomenal album.
This album demonstrates how far The Treatment have come in the intervening 3 years since ‘Waiting for Good Luck’. The quality of the song writing, and the musicianship is sublime, what will these songs be like live, I ponder ?
So off to the album release party I went, picture the scene, it’s Cambridge, it’s a gloriously sunny evening and here are we are in MASH, which is packed with Treatment fans keen to hear the band’s new album.
We are all in for a huge treat as The Treatment open with an acoustic set, showcasing their absolute class delivery and including a couple of the new tracks as well as some older favorites that rarely get played.
Next up are their guests Mansworth who rally the troops and provide a blistering 30-minute set ably led by Laurie Mansworth and fronted by Rob Angelico. The crowd are enraptured, what a great night this is!
Now for the main event, The Treatment in all of their glory and ready to party, waste no time, opening with ‘Let’s Wake Up This Town’, delighting everyone with ‘Back To The 1970’s’ and delivering epic track after track of pure rock, with a full set. What a roof-raising set, what a crowd (you could hear a pin drop), what a night! It was an absolute privilege to be there, this band is so hot right now; they are practically on fire!
If this album doesn’t act as a call to arms for the rock community to show some appreciation and love for modern Rock bands. I don’t know what will.
From Tom’s rallying vocals to the sublime guitars of the Grey Brothers and the heavy rhythm section provided by Andy & Dhani, this album takes the band to a stellar level with every track delivering refined, majestic rock, it’s a nod to the past showing the band’s love and appreciation of what came before them. What is even more impressive is that the songs were all recorded within 24 hours!
I am saying it right now – best Treatment album to date and already album of the year, status beyond killer! 5 stars is not enough! *****
Review by Karen Clayton
Catch them on the festival circuit and on tour with The Dead Daisies in September.
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BASTION ROSE (Epictronic Records)
VOODOO RAMBLE Midnight Ride (indie)
BYWATER CALL As If (indie)
ESCAPE THE PARADIGM Cold (Curtain Call Records)
DEFENCES Gold In The Dark (indie)
BRAVE RIVAL Fairytale (indie)
MOJO ACES Old Crow (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 10 June 2024
09:00-12:00 NESTOR Teenage Rebel (Napalm Records)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023
14:00-16:00 MIRACLE MILE East Of Ely (indie)
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