Little Victories - The Strypes album review

Little Victories (set for release on 21st August) is to be the second album from Cavan band The Strypes. Following their debut album, Snapshot, in 2013, The Strypes have met critical acclaim wherever they travel, and never fail to impress with their faultless live performances. We have been drip fed small doses of Little Victories  over the past few months, but now the time is upon us.



Opening with an attempt to replicate 70s rhythm and blues in the form of ‘Get Into It’, Little Victories finds itself still clinging onto the band's early pub rock roots, but with a larger variety of influences visible, such as punk, ska and rock which are all very obvious within an array of songs. Some of these influences are a lot more prominent than others; take 'Lovers Leave', for example, the introductory drum part is taken directly from the Elvis Costello classic 'Watching The Detectives' and isn't changed in the slightest to try and hide their plagiarism. ‘Lovers Leave’ and ‘Cruel Brunette’ sees Pete O’Hanlon (bass player) turning his hand to songwriting for the first time, with remarkable results. Both songs are much more poetic, lyrically, than the other songs on the album and seem to have much deeper meanings than McClorey’s tales of heterosexual encounters.

Throughout the album we see that every member, individually, brings their own style to the overall sound. Ross Farrelly’s Lew Lewis-esque vocals complement the harshness of Josh McClorey’s raucous guitar; this, when teamed with the rhythm section that is Evan Walsh’s thunderous drumming and pounding bass lines from Pete O’Hanlon, is a recipe for a brilliant album; sadly this recipe falls apart frequently leaving the listener feeling as though they haven't seem The Strypes at their full potential and also leaves one disappointed at this followup album.

Little Victories has lost the raw energy of Snapshot and has an altogether more polished, produced sound and feels more commercial. I personally feel as though this album will appeal to a wider range of people and may cause The Strypes to hit a more mainstream audience. If this is intentional then it's a very clever move from the band as it will publicise them much more than Snapshot's relatively specific group of Blues covers and R&B stompers.

3/5 - An average album. Initially mediocre but may grow on you after a couple of listens.

Written by Hannah Lee