Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
To be trapped in your own past, to never have another shot at redemption or glory, is to understand that Time can be a cruel mistress, that it is nothing but a vindictive and merciless entity that grins at those who let themselves be dragged down by the ankles and to whom accepting their finish brings it glee. To those who are spurred on, to those who live to Fight Another Day, Time is nothing more than a scurrilous child whose mewling cries are nothing but treasure to the ears.
To Fight Another Day is exactly what the Dan Reed Network have done, is the precise nature of their unrelenting belief and the enormously superb attitude of those around them that have led to the band releasing their first album in a quarter of a century and bringing back the Funk/Rock soul to the very inner core of the fan’s hearts.
Fight Another Day represents a moment in which the group’s belief is essential to inspiring others to do the same, to never give in, to never believe that argument displayed by others that you have had your day and your only single shot at doing what you love. It is the moment in which faith is rewarded and honed to make something beautiful stand out and put two fingers up to those who decried you and your efforts.
Sometimes the end is only to be seen as a new beginning, sometimes it is just a natural pause in which the sentence may be over but the chapter continues; it is such a chapter that Dan Reed Network flourish and excite again.
In tracks such as The Brave, the excellent Infected, B There With You, the ear catching Eye Of The Storm and Stand Tall all ripple with the same guts and glory as would be expected, the music is earth moving, faithful and complete; an album driven by belief, by unquestioning conviction and trust. Sometimes Time is after all only there to be tamed and reminded that despite its relentless march, humanity still has the ability to defy it and stride alongside it with buoyant assurance.
Never give up, never surrender, after to Fight Another Day is the point of existence.
Dan Reed Network’s Fight Another Day is released on June 3rd 2016.
Ian D. Hall