IT’sALIE – ‘Wild Games’

(Frontiers Records)

IT'sALIE doesn’t bother knocking with their latest album Wild Games, they stride straight into the room, amps humming, boots dusty, and dares you not to look them in the eye.

This isn’t background music. This is headlights-on-a-desert-highway rock. And at the centre of it all stands Giorgia Colleluori, whose voice doesn’t just carry the record, it brands it. I love her vocals, and I’m not shy about saying it. She doesn’t sing at you; she sings through you. There’s grit in the gears, honey on the edges, and a fire underneath that never once feels forced.

From the first surge of guitar, Wild Games plants its flag somewhere between late-night Americana and modern melodic hard rock. The production is polished but never plastic. The guitars bite without bludgeoning, the rhythm section locks in like a V8 engine idling at a red light, and the hooks, oh, the hooks, they don’t just arrive, they linger. You’ll find yourself humming them in the supermarket and wondering how they snuck into your bloodstream.

What strikes me most is the confidence. This isn’t an album searching for identity. It knows exactly what it is. There’s a classic-rock backbone running through its spine, echoes of open highways, neon reflections on rain-soaked asphalt but it never sounds retro for retro’s sake. Instead, it feels like a band who grew up on the greats and decided to carry the torch their own way.

Colleluori’s vocal performance deserves its own paragraph… maybe three.

She has that rare ability to balance power and vulnerability without tipping too far into either camp. When she leans into a chorus, there’s lift, the kind that makes your chest rise with it. But when she dials things back, there’s texture. You can hear breath, restraint, intention. It’s the difference between someone hitting notes and someone telling a story. She does the latter. Every time.

And let’s talk about phrasing. She doesn’t rush lines just to land the hook. She bends syllables, stretches emotion, and knows exactly when to let a note hang in the air like cigarette smoke in a dimly lit bar. That control? That’s not luck. That’s craft.

Lyrically, Wild Games leans into themes of resilience, identity, and spiritual grit. There’s a sense of pushing against walls, societal, personal, existential but never in a preachy way. It’s more about inner defiance than outward rebellion. The album doesn’t scream for revolution; it demands self-realization. It’s about standing in the storm and choosing not to flinch.

Leonardo Duranti’s guitar work deserves a tip of the hat too. Riffs are muscular without being macho. Solos don’t overstay their welcome. They arrive, say something meaningful, and step aside. That kind of restraint shows maturity. There’s no need for six-minute fretboard marathons when the song itself is the hero.

Rhythmically, the record knows how to shift gears. Some moments roll steady and deliberate, like a long stretch of interstate at dusk. Others hit the gas and let loose, drums snapping with urgency. Yet the pacing of the album as a whole feels intentional. There’s rise and fall, tension and release. It’s sequenced like a journey, not a random playlist.

Production-wise, there’s a modern clarity that keeps everything crisp. You can hear the layers, backing vocals tucked just right, guitars panned wide for that cinematic spread, basslines that pulse rather than simply sit in the background. But it never crosses into overproduced territory. The soul is intact. The edges are still sharp.

What I appreciate most is the sincerity. In an era where irony often overshadows authenticity, Wild Games plays it straight and that’s its strength. The emotion feels lived in. The conviction feels earned. There’s no wink to the camera, no smirk behind the mic. Just commitment.

And commitment matters.

Because rock, at its core, is about belief. Belief in the riff. Belief in the message. Belief that when you step up to the microphone, you mean every word. Colleluori means it. You can hear it in the way she attacks the higher registers. You can feel it in the steadiness of her lower tones. There’s no autopilot here.

If this album signals anything, it’s that IT'sALIE isn’t content to be a footnote in the modern rock conversation. There’s ambition baked into these grooves. Not ego – ambition. The kind that says, “I have something to say, and I’m going to say it loud enough for the back row.”

‘Waiting For The Rain’ the opener builds atmosphere before striking with purpose. There’s a slow-burn tension here, like storm clouds gathering on the horizon. Giorgia Colleluori’s vocal enters with restraint, then gradually opens up, setting the emotional tone for the journey ahead.

‘One Way To Rock’ there’s no ambiguity here, this one stomps in with swagger. Big riffs, driving rhythm, and a chorus designed for raised fists. It’s confident without being cocky, a straight-ahead rocker that feels built for the stage.

‘Living In The City’ – a pulsing groove anchors this urban anthem. There’s a restless energy in both the instrumentation and vocal phrasing, capturing the push-and-pull of modern life. The hook lingers long after the final chord fades.

‘History Remains’ leans into reflection. The guitars carry a slightly darker hue, and the vocal performance balances strength with introspection. There’s weight here, not heavy-handed, but meaningful.

‘Believers of Leaders’ is one of the album’s more pointed moments. The rhythm section locks in tight, giving the song a march-like intensity. It feels urgent, driven by conviction rather than aggression.

‘Rebels’ is defiant but melodic, this track thrives on contrast. The verses simmer: the chorus erupts. It’s rebellious in spirit but polished in execution, passion with control.

‘Bring It On’ is pure adrenaline. The tempo kicks up, the riffs sharpen, and the energy surges forward. It’s the kind of track that injects momentum right when the album needs it.

‘Gates Of Faith’ – here the band stretches out emotionally. There’s a cinematic sweep to the arrangement, and the vocal delivery carries a spiritual undercurrent. It feels expansive, almost anthemic.

‘Wake Up Call’ is direct and unapologetic. The groove is tight, the message clear. It’s punchy without overstaying its welcome, a sharp jolt in the album’s second half.

‘Death Road’ is one of the moodier cuts. There’s grit in the guitar tone and a darker atmosphere overall. The vocal performance adds depth, navigating intensity with poise.

‘Spirits’ is a fitting closer. There’s uplift here, a sense of resolution after the fire and tension that came before. It leaves you energized rather than drained with the final note hanging with purpose.

By the time the record winds down, you don’t feel drained, you feel charged. That’s a tricky balance to strike. Too much intensity can exhaust a listener. Too little leaves you indifferent. Wild Games walks that line with swagger.

In the grand tradition of rock records that feel both personal and expansive, this one stakes its claim proudly. It’s not reinventing the wheel; it’s putting better tires on it and driving it somewhere worth going.

Wild Games is a bold, heartfelt, riff-driven statement from a band who understands the power of voice – both literally and figuratively. And with Giorgia Colleluori at the helm, IT'sALIE doesn’t just play the game.

She owns it.

8/10

Essential Track – ‘History Remains’

Review by Woody