Reliable Rotherham rockers ‘The Reytons’ return with a foot-stomping second album that should please their fanbase and win over some doubters despite lacking its own voice. ‘What’s Rock and Roll?’ was released this Friday and, led by standout singles ‘Cash In Hand & Fake IDs’, ‘Avalanche’, ‘Fading’ and ‘One More Reason’, it frequently delivers chantable melodies over familiar but fiery guitar sounds. Characterised by singable but often predictable choruses, this energetic album should explode at the band’s live shows, but will most likely leave certain listeners waiting for more imagination.
The Reytons made their first big break in the indie rock scene with their 2018 EP ‘Alcopops and Charity Shops’, as Courteeners-Esque hits like ‘On The Back Burner’ and ‘Low Life’ cut through the competitive genre thanks to frontman Jonny Yerrell’s obvious ear for a catchy refrain – yet despite this, their first full-length LP proved to be divisive. Singles from their 2021 album ‘Kids Off The Estate’ were perhaps bloated by the tempting production possibilities at their fingertips, which, for some fans, diluted the charm they emitted on earlier releases. Early favourites such as ‘Low Life’ and ‘Slice Of Lime’ were re-recorded with denser mixing for the album but their organic original editions still see better streaming figures on Spotify to this day.
This new album does, however, find a better way of balancing early authenticity with ambition. Yerrell has cited Arctic Monkeys, Reverend and the Makers and Milburn as some of the band’s influences in the past, and it shows here with a sense of rawness and honesty – things the band say they value above all else are resurrected on enjoyable songs like ‘Cash In Hand and Fake IDs’. That particular song is a prime example of The Reytons’ potential as the crisp opening guitars offer a refreshingly minimalist sound which is later enhanced not by big production but by top-end indie songwriting. Although to a lesser extent, the same could be said for its fellow singles ‘Fading’ and ‘One More Reason’.
That, though, is not to say the album doesn’t have its weaker moments. Lyrics on the opening track ‘15 Minutes in the Algorithm’, for example, come across as cheap and cliched in their endeavour to criticise modern life’s relationship with social media. This has been done well in recent years with songs like ‘Zuckerpunch’ by The Snuts and ‘Artifical Screens’ by The Lathums, but The Reytons’ on-the-nose lyrics hinder them more than they help on this occasion. Annoyingly, the theme then reappears on other songs such as ‘Monthly Subscription’ and ‘Istanbul’ without ever really managing to reveal anything particularly nuanced on the subject matter.
Despite its lyrical pitfalls, ‘Istanbul’ is one of the stronger cuts on the album and might just encapsulate everything better and worse about The Reytons over their last two releases. Its Muse-like guitars and giant punchy choruses seem necessary to compensate for lazier verses that routinely lack imagination – but whether that formula is a successful one is very much down to the listener. No doubt it’s the kind of song that will go off at live shows, but like most of the songs on ‘What’s Rock and Roll?’, it also leaves you wondering how better it would be if as much time and thought was put into verses and bridges as its choruses.
Maybe album three will see The Reytons get it right.