Review: The New Roses – Attracted To Danger

Napalm Records (October 4^th, 2024)

Reviewer: Jason Hopper

German hard rockers The New Roses are set to return with their third album ‘Attracted To Danger’, and I have apparently been missing out. This is their sixth album but never heard anything previously. The first single from this album ‘When You Fall in Love’ came across my YouTube feed back in July and I was immediately taken by them. The band has a great balance of bluesy hard rock and soul that you would find in bands like Aerosmith, Tesla, and Great White.  It always amazes me when a foreign band can capture the essence of an American southern hard rock sound.

While the whole band does a terrific job, I believe the magic lies in the passionate and powerful vocals of Timmy Rough. With ‘When You Fall in Love’ as the opener, I did not realize how soulful the band could get with Track 2’s ‘Natural Born Vagabonds’. It wears its southern rock influences on its sleeve with this mid-tempo anthem. Timmy just sells the hell out of this song and makes you feel every word. I openly exclaimed “Wow” when it got to the first chorus.  It’s pitch perfect and nothing else on the album sounds quite like it.

Many of the other up-tempo rockers are exhilarating and diverse enough that by the end of the album you will have several of them stuck in your head. Tracks 3 through 6 are what I would call highway songs. Songs like the title track and ‘Four Wheels’ need to be played loud, with the windows down, as you coast down a long road with not a care in the world. The power of a great song is when it can throw away your cares while simultaneously making you feel on top of the world.

This grouping of four songs ends with my favorite track on the album. ‘This Heart’ is all about resiliency and never giving up. It has the type of up-tempo rhythm and words that makes your heart race and your spirit soar. This will easily make my Top 10 songs of the year, and I suspect others will feel the same. It would be a travesty if the band did not release this as a single.

Other great tracks include the ballad ‘Hold Me Up’ a duet with ex/Amorettes singer Gill Montgomery. It’s an acoustic based, country-soaked ditty. As a fan of bands like Rascal Flatts and the recently discovered Hillbilly Vegas, this is right up my alley. There’s also a terrific cover on Neil Young’s ‘Rockin’ In The Free World’. As an aside, as good as this version is, the live cover version by Bon Jovi in Osaka, 2000 cannot be beat.

Having never heard prior tracks, I am sure fans of the band are going to love this release. For newbies like me, this makes me want to check out what had come before immediately. I could not stop playing this album for days and I never tired of it. Stream it the day it comes out in your car and play it loud. A terrific road trip soundtrack.

Tracklist:

1. When You Fall in Love
2. Natural Born Vagabonds
3. Attracted to Danger
4. Four Wheels
5. Bring the Thunder
6. This Heart
7. Hold Me Up (feat. Gill Montgomery)
8. Spirit of a Rebel
9. Rockin’ in the Free World
10. Whiskey In the Backseat

Line-up:
Timmy Rough – vocals, guitar
Dizzy Daniels – guitar
Hardy – bass
Urban Berz – drums

Official Website

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter / X

Napalm Records