Taylor Hawkins & the Coattail Riders - Red Light Fever

While Foo Fighters have settled into the complacent middle-age of stadium rock, drummer Taylor Hawkins isn’t going down without a fight. Most of the songs here have a sense of propulsion and direction so enthusiastic that, given Hawkins’ day job, it’s easy to imagine their genesis as being on drums rather than guitar.

Luckily, he’s got the melodies to back it up. Opening with Not Bad Luck the tub-thumper lays all his cards on the table as regards influence, weaving between spiralling metal scales, glam-rock funk and rhapsodic vocal bursts, visiting along the way AC/DC, Queen and, intentional or not, even a little Rod Stewart.

Hawkins is strongest when peddling in adrenaline rush, Way Down and James Gang being two further triumphs in this field. Trips into soggy metal balladry, like the Cat Stevens-cum-Poison effort Don’t Have To Speak, are perfectly serviceable if ultimately forgettable, dampening the fun of what is on the whole a spirited and well executed record. [Oisin Kealy]