Frank Carter is certainly in a reflective frame of mind on the Rattlesnakes’ fifth album.
On its lead single, Man Of The Hour, the person once named the coolest man in rock by the NME questions the whole notion of stardom, of putting human beings on a pedestal, all set to swooning, theatrical power-pop that sits a million miles away from his days with punk firebrands Gallows.
They’ve been dabbling with crooning over screaming for some time, of course, and here the dusky but polished alt rock comes fully to the fore, the likes of Can I Take You Home sharing more in common with Arctic Monkeys at their horniest, with a little QOTSA swagger thrown in for good measure.
There’s a charming vulnerability to it all, and although they still amp up the rock when necessary – a riff at the heart of Brambles is fittingly prickly – Dark Rainbows is a brooding, subtle, ballad-stuffed affair from a band that refuses to be hemmed in by their own history.
