Review Summary: Not Hundred Reasons's best, but still good.
Now, I will admit that this is definitely not Hundred Reasons at their best. It does sound a little bit like they know that they need to get some commercial recognition, and as such have made an album to suit it.
However, the results of this are mixed.
I am very much in disagreement with people who have panned this album, because there are quite obviously some brilliant songs of classic HR stock which have been ignored.
"Break The Glass" is a decent enough start to the album, with racing guitars and dual vocals setting the standard.
"No Way Back" is excellent, and it is poppy, but when pop is done this well, and by Hundred Reasons of all people, who cares? It is well-written, extremely catchy, and a great song. It is hard to hate music like this.
"Sick Little Masquerade" ups the quality once again, with an anthemic chorus that was built for lighter-waving - another fine song.
"Boy" is in the same vein as the song preceding, but this is a good thing - it is another fine piece of sing along rock music.
The good quality is lowered a little by "Slipping Away", which, although decent, is not on par with its forebears.
"Pernavas Iela" is a welcome departure, being soothing and ambient, with gentle washes of keyboard and drums, but isn't one you'll find yourself repeating.
"The Shredder" is a savage thrashing piece of metal, with Colin Doran's vocals being main deranged snarls - good, but not great.
"I'll Never Know" is, in a word, amazing. It's almost worth getting the album just for it - if they had done the whole record with songs in this style, it would have been brilliant. It recalls the good old HR, but with just enough softening of the sound to show a maturation and attract new listeners. A real standout.
"She Is Poison" tries its hand at a poppy hook, and is once again, good, but it falters in the shadow of "I'll Never Know" preceding it.
"Opera" is low-end, menacing and heavy, with guitarist Larry Hibbit assuming the vocal mantle, and it is on the level with tracks such
as "Boy" and "No Way Back" - another no-nonsense, good track.
"Lost For Words", with its bouncy hook, is decent enough, but it doesn't really seem to go anywhere. It's not bad, but not that memorable either.
"Out of Time", the end song, finally shows a return to form. It is excellent -a brash, shouty chorus, pulsating guitars and fine vocal harmonies making for one of the best songs on the whole album.
Hundred Reasons have not made the best album of their career here, but it is still a well-made piece as a whole, and it is held strong by the very high quality of its best songs, which are very, very worthwhile. Not everything works, but "Quick The Word Sharp The Action" is good album that is undeserving of the vicious barbs that it has been pinioned with.
