In the true spirit of punk, where the only rule is - there are no rules - Frank Carter and The Rattlesnakes have released a punk album of power ballads. Eleven tracks long and pulling no punches, it explores themes of love, loss, pain and happiness and delivers the most mature album in Frank Carter's catalogue. 

Someone has given the band a synthesiser and I am totally here for it. Relying on a blistering vocal performance, the album veers from standard pogo-ready crowd pleasers to pastures new. If your favourite tracks from End of Suffering were the growers, the slower burners, then this album should be a delight. Jettisoning the reliance on guest acts that made 'Sticky' a tad erratic, this is an album that feels smooth and deliberate, a band at home with the journey they are taking you on. That's not to say it's a comfortable listen, whilst musically it may feel competent and classy, never missing an element or going too far over the top, lyrically and with the best Frank Carter performance yet, it doesn't pull any punches. 

Exploding into the stomping starting chords of ‘Honey’, the album stakes a claim to all things ‘Rattlesnakes’ and lets you know you're in the right place for a good mosh. Then the album turns a corner for the first single ‘Man of the Hour’ and heads to a different, more mature and, dare I say, accessible Rattlesnakes. The scene is set and the pace jumps a little for ‘American Spirit’ and ‘Happier Days’ but they are not the highlights; it's the more emotionally charged ‘Brambles’, ‘Self Love’, ‘Dark Rainbow’ and, my favourite, the tear inducing ‘Sun Bright Happening’ (I'm not crying - you're crying) where the band show what they are actually capable of - and it's quite a bit more than you may have expected. 

While previously ‘I Hate You’ and ‘Anxiety’ have been capable of eliciting emotional responses by tapping into the teenage angst in us all, this album with a more considered and grown up approach, pulls on the reality of adulthood. An album as seductive and sensual as you will find, it is crammed full of energy and intensity while taking us on a search for enlightenment. It's like Coldplay's ‘Parachutes’ but without being forced to hear about how difficult it is to be happy whilst earning millions and boffing Hollywood royalty. Instead we have our anxiety crippled ginger everyman exuding charm and charisma like a tattooed Tony Christie and singing "all I ever wanted was a house to call my own, a bed to lay my head in, a place I could call home..". The simple honesty of the message is real to many of us and that should be enough for this album to raise the profile of the band further still. Currently pulling Academy sized crowds they may need an arena to fill in the coming year.

It's only January and we may have had album of the year already….

Pre-order Dark Rainbow HERE

Words by Rich Dunn