For me, it is a case of diminishing returns for Chez Kane. Loved the debut, thought the follow-up was still pretty strong but suffered from a poor choice of song sequencing (never open with a ballad), now we have the third album ‘Reckless’ to dive into.
As with the other two records, this is a project driven by Danny Rexon from Crazy Lixx – written, produced , mixed and played by Danny with Chez getting writing credit on a couple of songs.
I’m not sure I’d want to put my name to these lyrics though – they border on utterly ridiculous and something perhaps Spinal Tap might even say no to. I mean, I’m all for an 80s revival, most of my life has been spent living in that decade, but I’d be happy to see the ‘I wanna lick you, thump you, pump you, bonk you, do you…’ lyrics left behind.
And the less said about the cover art the better.
Atrociously cringe worthy and cheesy lyrics aside the music is right out of 1988, and the hooks and melodies are there to reel you in. Chez can sing like an angel, she has a really strong voice that to be honest, if wasn’t featured here, the rest of the album would fall apart. The selling point here is big catchy cheesy songs delivered with sure conviction. I prefer the second half of the record for song strength.
I think the reviews are going to be mixed here. Can’t fault the catchiness of it all and the great retro feel, but the image and the lyrics almost capsize the ship. And I really miss a big ballad in amongst the mix. Chez sang a few brilliant ballads across the first two albums. 10 all up-tempo tracks don’t allow much room for the listener to catch their breath.
Three albums in, I reckon it’s time for Chez to pivot on the next record. Each album has been increasingly ‘over the top’ and the mid boggles at where #4 could go given the trajectory so far.
