Cheeky for a Reason

Personnel: Kyle Falconer (vocals, guitar, background vocals); Darren Rennie (vocals, keyboards, background vocals); Pete Reilly (guitar); Steven Morrison (drums, percussion, background vocals); Kieren Webster (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Mike Crossey.
Recording information: The Motor Museum.
Photographers: Andy Willsher; Kat Green; Dominic Cocozza.
Scottish indie rock outfit the View's 2012 album Cheeky for a Reason is a slightly more mature outing that still builds upon the rambunctious pop/rock of the band's previous work. With lead singer Kyle Falconer's Highland brogue spearheading the band's mischievous, playful plug-and-play sound, the View have always had a youthful exuberance that was hard to ignore even when the songs weren't quite the most original or memorable things you've ever heard. On Cheeky for a Reason, it's as if the band, which was a Mercury Prize nominee in 2009, finally tapped into the creative wellspring that often guides the best guitar-based rock bands on a search for the perfect pop song. Sidestepping some of their earlier, more experimental leanings and honing the bar band anthems of 2011's Bread & Circuses, the View deliver a catchy, hook-oriented batch of melodic rock that sticks with you, drawing you back for repeated listens. Tracks like the leadoff "How Long" and the sparkling "AB (We Need Treatment)" zip along with a power pop gallop and feature melodies that grab your ears with a glitter rock insistence. Elsewhere, cuts like the romantic "Bunker (Solid Ground)" and the brooding, spaghetti Western guitar-led "The Clock" have a '70s Fleetwood Mac vibe. Ultimately, by the time you get to the rousing and romantically giddy alt-rock anthem "Lean on My World," it's clear that the View have more than a few reasons to justify their cheekiness on what is their best album yet. ~ Matt Collar