Get ready to rock
Right from the off, MSTRKRFT aren’t messing about, with ‘It Ain’t Love’ sounding like an amphetamine charged Daft Punk getting the ‘Fist of God’ album off to a flying start. The upbeat and pulverising feel of the album continues for a lot of the early half and you can see this material fitting in neatly to the acts live show. MSTRKRFT have been wowing festival audiences and their own fans and with this new material, they are going to be able to rock the place.
The Daft Punk link isn’t as lazy as you would think, the band has definitely got the same feel as the robots had for their ‘Robot Rock’ lp. The guitar riffs and fills would not be out of place on a ZZ Top record and its these moments that will have the crowd at their gigs punching the air for the moment. Its one of they records that fit the “now” scene so well but its also a fairly linear progress from the bands previous work. ‘1,000 Cigarettes’ and ‘Bounce’ are nasty little numbers that were made to shimmy and shake and should easily get more people involved. The latter does have the worrying feel that you think Black Eyed Peas could have made it if they were given a cooler twist but we’ll let it slide this time around. If we find the MSTRKRT boys start hanging around with that tart Fergie, well, we’ll recommend they get some shots but after that, there will be a word in the ear to point out the errors of their ways.
The appearance of John Legend on ‘Heartbreaker’ slows things down a little bit and although it adds a bit more colour to the record, it slightly weakens the party mood. Thankfully, it is quickly followed by the title track which puts things back in their natural order and ensures that MSTRKRFT are back on familiar territory.
There is a lot to enjoy here and although the pace is similar throughout the record, it is an interesting tempo and it is a party record. It is not as if MSTRKRT are putting on any airs and graces about the type of act that they are. They intend to have the dance floor rocking and this is exactly what they manage to do here. If you like to get down and fancy the idea of guest vocalists helping out anyway they can, be sure to give ‘Fist of God’ a spin.