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WANTED
Late Attraction

Self-released (2023)
Rating: 9/10

With a slight play on the title of White Lion’s 1991 Mane Attraction opus, Michigan hard rockers Wanted returns soon after last year’s incredible Chain Reaction debut full-length. Once again the band taps into the classic American 80s heavy rock sound, a time when big hair and tight pants were all the rage and fat choruses were delivered with as much fluff as hairspray.

Seemingly under neon lights, Wanted seem happy to channel the aforementioned White Lion, especially in the vocal department, but I feel that a few tweaks of such mimicry could be eradicated and the band may truly find their own sound. Thankfully, in spite of the obvious influences, Late Attraction boasts a host of quality tracks which vary from wistful ballads to steady and simmering mid-tempo rockers and grittier, heavier doses. It’s all here, conjuring images of city lights, packed boulevards and fluttering, satin curtains which toy with as equally exotic bed sheets in the humid night.

From the raunchy rendezvous of Ratt to the dreamy fires of Dokken, Wanted explore known themes to melodious effect, resulting in an endless stream of infectious numbers which exhibit the knack they have for stirring up such evocative images. All 12 tracks offered here are stunners, with each one displaying different layers of mood and emotion.

At times, the guys deliver the downright sumptuous in the form of ballad ‘Could It Be Love’ and the enigmatic sways of ‘Livin’ On Love’. There are also the harder compositions, like the sizzling ‘Gas Burner’ and the fiery title track, and the mid-tempo groove of ‘Heartache Fever’. And then there are the nostalgic cuts primed for late night radio; ‘Lost In The Night’, ‘Caged In’ and ‘Forever’ all simmer into the shades of a hot summer.

Late Attraction is such a fantastic album that struts (‘Only One Tonight’) like Van Halen or Extreme, but also delivers hard edged throwback nods (‘Breaking ’Till Dawn’), and with each listen one feels as though they become cosier within its folds. This is another classy slice of hard rock from a band that has that mercurial talent which should, if common sense prevails, catapult them to the dizzy heights of stardom.

Neil Arnold

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