Review Summary: A fun, enjoyable collection of radio-friendly hard rock music sadly restrained by the trappings of that exact sound.
Formed out of the remnants of The Explicits, Fit For Rivals are essentially singer-songwriter Renee Phoenix's passion project, allowing her to explore her love for artists such as Joan Jett and not become attached to one specific genre. Their first album, 'Steady Damage,' attracted attention through the "scene" subculture in the aftermath of the release of the "Damage" single, and was a love-letter to pop-punk in general. With the release of 2016's 'Freak Machine,' the band took a change in direction towards a more general hard-rock sound, with artists such as Cranberries and The Runaways standing out as clear influences. The result is a very solid album, full of great tracks.
As the band are essentially steered by Renee, the logical place to begin any evaluation of this album's merits would be in her own performance. Having a gruffer voice, somewhat reminiscent of The Distillers, these vocals are not for everybody, but it is clear that Renee pours a lot of energy into her work. "Special Kind Of Crazy" is a more relaxed song with a heavier verse, and the additional strain put into her voice is very effective, whilst the title track is an up-tempo hard rock masterclass, with the chorus sticking out as one of the stronger moments here. One thing that should be mentioned, however, is that the vocals aren't especially varied, and so if one song grates on a listener then the rest will.
The collection of songs here range from good to excellent. Whilst the ideas here are nothing new, the execution is really good. "Hit Me," "I Am," and the title track are all examples of the more intense, energetic songs produced here, and all three are really enjoyable. The former has an addictive main riff, whilst "I Am" is one to chant along to. The other type of track found here follows the soft verse, loud chorus formula, with songs such as "Novocain," "Light That Shines," and "Special Kind Of Crazy" falling into this category. It's safe to say that these are a one-trick pony, and rely heavily on the dynamic of Renee switching into a louder vocal style to carry them through their choruses, but all are still enjoyable.
The lyrical themes here aren't anything to write home about, with several dealing with general love and are underpinned by Renee's own feeling of difference due to her sexuality. They aren't especially well written, but do their job adequately. The same can also be said for the majority of the instrumentation, where - aside from the occasional standout riff - they are rather pedestrian, but I feel that is an issue with radio-friendly hard rock as a whole. Rounding out the aspects of the album, the production is solid, giving the guitars and drums a real punch to them, whilst ensuring Renee is never too loud in the mix.
'Freak Machine' is an album held back somewhat by the genre it falls into, but is ultimately still a very enjoyable experience and one of my personal favourite albums of its year. The songs are all inoffensive hard rock music carried by a standout performance from the band's leading member. I recommend it to people who want singalong-friendly music with the occasional heavier edge to it.
