Johnny Foreigner - You Can Do Better

When a band has been around a while, it’s easy to start to take them for granted. Fans get gradually less excited by every coming album, the songs start going by the numbers - everything becomes a pale shadow of its former self.

Don’t panic. That’s not Johnny Foreigner; far from it. By their fourth album, the Birmingham quartet have achieved that rare talent that few others ever get the time or support to achieve. When saying they’ve become very, very good at being, well, Johnny Foreigner, that’s no bad thing. This isn’t a watered down version of what came before, but a concentrated, quick fire perfection of an idea from what remains one of the most exciting bands around.

Rather than pointlessly veer across the musical spectrum, ‘You Can Do Better’ is a perfect execution of a well thought out plan. All angles and pointy bits, from frantic opener ‘Shipping’ (“If I stop shipping you / you stop shipping me!”), theirs is a masterplan perfected to a tee. And yet it never gets old - ‘You Can Do Better’ is packed tight with ideas, peerless influences, sneak attack hook lines and infectious sugar rush energy.

‘In Capitals’’ breakneck pace changes, from 100mph to standstill and back again; ‘Riff Glitchard’’s winding, serene build; the wining, slacker rock guitar intro to ‘Wifi Beach’ - standout tracks change by the listen. Tired and formulaic? Not even close. Being Johnny Foreigner sounds nothing short of fucking brilliant.