’We’re not selling our soul for rock’n’roll, I’m a loser and I’m forty.’ Massive Wagons vocalist Baz Mills might thumb his nose at Faustian bargains on Free And Easy, but there’s no denying these Lancastrian rockers have become something of a sleeper hit over the past decade, steadily playing to bigger audiences and even cracking the UK top 10 with their previous two albums.
They’re not letting that give them big heads on Earth To Grace, though. Their seventh album delivers the same no-nonsense rock’n’roll that brings to mind bands like Status Quo, The Wildhearts and even Bon Jovi – albeit if they came from Newchurch rather than New Jersey.
Amid this Lancashire hotpot of influences is a definable flavour that’s all Wagons’ own: a combination of earnestness and cheeky humour that is infectious and joyous.
Be it the gigantic hooks of Missing On TV, Free And Easy and All We Got, or the Whitesnake-ish power ballad Night Skies, Earth To Grace is a record that contrasts personal victories with sobering realities, delivering a beat-the-odds mentality that is nothing short of magic.
