2023 Update Triggered!
There are parts of the review below that I have updated after not listening to House of Noise in quite some time, but really quickly I wanted to draw attention to the October 2022 album release Triggered!. I am finally listening to it in February 2023.
All in all I am digging Triggered! more than House of Noise. Triggered! is a seamless continuation of House of Noise. Massive Wagons is wearing all of the same influences, but there’s seems more of a party vibe as well as slightly more aggressive than House of Noise.
The musicality of the band on Triggered! also is elevated. The production is stellar on Triggered! and is probably Massive Wagon’s most complete record to date showcasing all the band’s talents and personality.
Triggered! Tracklisting: 1. Fuck the Haters, 2. Please Stay Calm, 3. Generation Prime, 4. A.S.S.H.O.L.E., 5. Skateboard, 6. Gone Are the Days, 7. Triggered, 8. Giulia, 9. Germ, 10. Never Been a Problem, 11. Big Time, 12. Sawdust, 13. No Friend of Mine
Get yourself some killer band swag at the official website.
Release Date
July 17, 2020
Tracklisting
1.”In It Together”
2. “Bangin in Your Stereo”
3. “House of Noise”
4. “Freak City”
5. “Hero”
6. “Professional Creep”
7. “Pressure”
8. “The Curry Song”
9. “Glorious”
10. “Sad Sad Song”
11. “Hallescrewya”
12. “Matter of Time”
Who is Massive Wagons – House of Noise for?
Massive Wagons 2020 Album, House of Noise, is born from the poppier brighter side of The Wildhearts / Ginger Wildheart catalog. It is also music that you could put behind Justin Hawkins falsetto vocals and it would sound like The Darkness.
I applaud the attention to detail with vocal melody, music melody lines & slick fun production with the dynamics of this album.
Members
Vocals / Guitars – Barry Baz Mills
Guitars – Adam Thistlethwaite / Stevie Holl
Bass – Adam “Bowzer” Bouskill
Drums – Alex Thistlethwaite
Massive Wagons Origin? What are Massive Wagons?
Massive Wagons originated from Lancaster, England in 2009 by vocalist Barry “Baz” Mills and guitarist Adam Thistlethwaite.
Massive Wagons cited the following as inspiration: Airbourne, Black Stone Cherry, 90s punk, the Offspring, Green Day, UFO, Rainbow and Slade.
I was introduced to Massive Wagons with the 2018 album Full Nelson during covid lockdown 2020. I was listening to The Wildhearts on Spotify and after the album I was listening to was over Spotify chose to throw on the Massive Wagons track “Billy Balloon Head”.
I began to dig into the bands history and found out they were nameless until they booked their first show. The name Massive Wagons was chosen on the spot, paying homage to a funny nickname of a local barmaid. The name was permanently adopted.
Massive Wagons Accolades
Courtesy of Earache Records website:
“Classic Rock Magazine put it, “blossomed from local concern to national conversation”, becoming a firm favorite of rock fans and press alike across Europe thanks to their no-nonsense anthems, electrifying live shows, unconquerable work ethic and fun-loving personalities.
“The first Lancaster band to achieve a UK Top 40 album, UK #9 album House Of Noise, UK #16 album “Full Nelson”. “House Of Noise” also picked up the Best British Album award as part of Planet Rock’s The Rocks 2021, and landed the #14 in Classic Rock Magazine’s Best 50 Albums of 2020.”
House of Noise – Album Review
Mid July 2020 England’s Massive Wagons put out their much anticipated album, House of Noise. This album is a follow up to their 2018 next level album Full Nelson where they were opening for bands like The Wildhearts. I instantly became a Massive Wagons fan when I heard the Full Nelson album.
House of Noise is definitely different from the Full Nelson album and I would suggest to give Full Nelson a play through first. I wouldn’t say House of Noise is a progression of better music but rather a lateral move to more of the pop side of Massive Wagons.
House of Noise is the product of a label/producer overcooking the material searching for hook madness. House of Noise doesn’t have that organic songwriting chemistry thing Full Nelson has. Organic, inspired to the nines can’t lose, songwriting are drunk nights where every little drunk side quest turns out to be awesome and then you talk to your buddy the next day and go over how awesome everything was.
House of Noise definitely showcases the creativity of Massive Wagons and explores what they excel at. All of the tracks are fun to listen to and even better when hammered but if you’re paying attention you will eventually zone out and it’ll play along in the background to whatever you are doing.
My initial comparison when I first wrote this review was that It reminded of Turbonegro’s Rock N Roll Machine or Dank Jones’s last studio record, A Rock Supreme. Listening back in 2023 House of Noise is a much better album than Rock N Roll Machine and A Rock Supreme.
Overall I love Massive Wagons even though I still prefer Full Nelson to House of Noise. The follow up album Triggered! was released October 2022. Massive Wagons is like Mustasch lite, The Darkness’s stepson or The Wildhearts hyper little bro still waiting to blossom into a dangerous little kid with only bad ideas that make girls feel funny like climbing a rope in gym class.
Cheers mates!
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