ALBUM REVIEW: Warriors – Rews

Returning from a three-year hiatus after the triumph of 2017’s Pyro, Northern Irish band REWS outlives the sophomore slump as they deliver their second success, Warriors, the alt/pop-rock anthem of 2020 that gives heartache and love a much-needed modern twist. Rather than relish in the pain, REWS lyrical journey paints out themes of fighting through struggles and coming out on top without being too ‘preachy’. In these harrowing times of despair and unknowingness Warriors is exactly the reassurance you need to get through the nightmare that has been 2020.

Birdsong gets the ball rolling with a climactic start to sweep you off your feet. The track opens with a looming bass that gives it a darker feeling, but soon enough the vivacious riffs and boisterous pop verses pick up the track and set a fun, exciting tone for the rest of the album.

Warriors highest points are the rife versatility in the instrumentals alone. Tracks like Birdsong, Razordblade, and Love Hate Song have these bouncing bass licks that give the song a really gritty rock feeling. It’s almost cinematic, many of these songs feel straight out of an anti-hero comic book movie, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World being a prime example. However, many of these tracks dig a little deeper and give callbacks to a lot of 70s rock in tracks like Heart Is On Fire and Today We’re Warriors that have such a bashful, wild child energy. REWS keeps it refreshing by mixing in some light-hearted pop verses to give these rustic rock hooks some sort of pop sensibility that overall creates a more rhythmic and enlightened flow. It might remind one a lot of BIFFY CLYRO‘s earlier works and you can see inklings of their 2010 Only Revolutions, especially tracks like Mountains and Bubbles, with how exciting the guitars are in both that album and now this one – very similar upbeat tones.

The lyrical counterpart is arguably the powerhouse of this album. Warriors details the struggles of heartbreak, personal conflict, and battling against your own monsters in a very open and honest manner – like a personal letter or reading from someone’s diary. One might even argue that vocalist and songwriter Shauna Tohill returns to the core of brilliant songwriting as a lot of these tracks body themselves as almost like spoken word poetry. From the flow of the lyrics to how poignantly the emotions are laid out, that also doesn’t blur the lines of a generically sad songs but instead perfectly crafts lyrics that are symbolic and subtle but have a greater effect; they’re honest, raw and pack a punch.

Seen best in tracks like Monsters, Heart Is On Fire and Today We’re Warriors, as mentioned these tracks don’t indulge too heavily in a pity party extravaganza, with REWS flipping the narrative to always pushing this idea of getting through the pain and being stronger than listening to “monsters in your head.” One lyric in particular that sticks out is from Today We’re Warriors, “life’s too good to throw away, so when your backs against the wall turn around and fight them all”.

One can appreciate how the themes of this album are executed, always straying away from generic crutches and finding inventive but not dissimilar ways to create tracks. REWS uses the upbeat nature of their tracks to mask these emotional lyrics, which only gives them the extra oomph when you come to realise the context of the songs. One notable moment that listeners might enjoy is how Tohill holds the note in the first chorus for “Fire” in Heart Is On Fire.

Whilst this album does make the best of alt/pop-rock, perhaps the few criticisms to have is that it didn’t bend the rules enough and more surprises are always welcome. The first half of this album plays to the familiar comfort of radio alt/pop-rock which works to REWS advantage, people like what’s popular. But by the second half of the album, there’s a little too much repetition and the flow really disjoints from Move On to Itch, Move On and Play Dead aren’t necessarily slower tracks but are just what’s already been heard on other tracks in this album. Then bouncing back in with Love Hate Song and Bad Girl, that is exciting and different, only to return to that similar repetition in Itch clashes very abruptly – it’s not a major issue, but feels a little displaced.

Warriors ends with a bittersweet note on Bad Habits, a soulful ballad of honesty that steps away from the high-energy of this album and offers truly a raw, intimate moment with Tohill. Overall, Warriors plays along with the fun, energetic styles of pop-rock and promotes a positive, much-needed attitude of finding love within yourself during hard times – it’s what we need right now.

Rating: 8/10

Warriors is set for release on August 7th via Marshall Records.

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