Tuesday, April 23, 2024

CRUZH: "The Jungle Revolution"


Frontiers 2024
Rating: RRRR
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

"The Jungle Revolution" is the third album from Swedish hard rockers CRUZH. The band recently added a second guitarist Johan Öberg to the line-up, which might be the reason for their slightly toughened, sleazier sound. Still, their love for Def Leppard, Bon Jovi et al. still through. Songs like "Angel Dust", "Split Personality" and "Gimme Anarchy" are very much in the vein of Crash Diët and other new sleaze rockers, but then again, Cruzh have always had a bit of a glam vibe. 

My favourites are on the melodic end of their spectrum though: "Winner" is the love child of "Heaven Is A Place On Earth" and Skagarack's "Hungry For A Game" - very familiar ingredients but freshly baked with cruzhed candy on top. The single "FL89" would be a summer hit in some other dimension, and the moodier "Killing In The Name Of Love" will delight the fans of the first Cruzh album. The title "SkullCruzher" suggests something extremely heavy, but it's probably the most keyboard-driven track of the album, with a healthy doze of Whoa Whoa's. The album's ballad "From Above" might just be the band's finest slow song so far, a delicate, understated number with beautiful melodies and a heartfelt vocal from Alex Waghorn.