The third studio effort from the Bristol, England-based hard rock outfit,
The Free Life delivers a tightly wound set of nervy roomshakers that meld the machine-like precision of
Muse (minus the melodrama) with the kinetic garage punk attack of
Royal Blood and
Band of Skulls. Despite a very brief spoken word intro, fiery opener "No No No" wastes little time getting to the point, unleashing a barrage of muscular distortion, forceful drumming, and a potent vocal performance from frontman
Chris Georgiadis that brings to mind Siamese Dream-era
Smashing Pumpkins. A bombardment of guest vocalists lend their tonsils to like-minded follow-ups "Capital X" (
Idles' Joe Talbot), "Cheap Magic" (
Death from Above's
Sebastien Grainger), "Very Bad" (Vodun's
Chantal Brown), and "Domino" (
Royal Blood's Mike Kerr), with the gutsy latter cut serving as the LP's second single. With the exception of the reverb-laden psych-folk closer, "Concluder," volume reigns supreme throughout
The Free Life, though the compression-heavy production can sometimes put a hurting on the overall dynamics -- even the slow-burn title track, which ramps up like a hand-cranked machine gun, can't break out of its own self-imposed sonic stratosphere. Still,
Turbowolf's beefy riffs, hook-driven choruses, and sinewy post-punk/new wave aesthetic remain compelling throughout, especially when all three of those predilections rise to the forefront, as they do on the feisty, handclap-happy "Halfsecret," the
Gary Numan-esque "Up & Atom," and the unyielding and decidedly pit-ready "Blackhole." They're still trying to find the sweet spot between Sunset Strip sleaze, Brit-pop, the early-2000s garage rock revival, and the punchy, architectural weirdness of
Queens of the Stone Age, but on album number three,
Turbowolf have never sounded more self-assured. ~ James Christopher Monger