Do you need to get cheered up for that exam you have going up? Do you need to get pumped up for that gym session you’ve been dreading today? Do you need to make your daily run ten minutes faster than you normally achieve? Take out your phone, load up Louis and the Shakes’ newest single, How Badly Do You Want It, and let the magic of the tune do the rest.

Genres come and go when it comes to music, and one that seems to have lost its platform since the 80s and 90s is the infamous ‘arena’ style. It’s mostly been on life support, sustained by modern country-pop artists, but the beloved art of stadium rock ‘n roll has been missing for the last decade or so. When I first turned on this song, I felt immediately transported to the cold arena hosting all of our town’s hockey games, waiting for the players to skate their way into action. There’s something so incredibly cheery about the fast tempo, the crispy production, and the reverb-infused sound, as if it really were playing from some large, open venue. The clapping only supplements to the tone, and helps build the steady rhythm as the various parts come and go. This isn’t just a steak-and-potatoes stadium rock tune, however, as there are a lot of elements from grunge, especially with the heavily distorted vocals, and even funk towards the end of the track. There’s even a tint of harmonic minor evil at the very last chord of the chorus, which spices up the composition with that single chord alone. The musicians all do a fantastic job really staying true to the tone and emotion of the song, and are key to keeping the energy of the song roof-high for nearly three-quarters of the song. Every breakdown is only to bring the energy that much higher, and it’s executed very eloquently.

How Badly Do You Want It is an anthem, it’s a statement, and it’s a damn good song. I was typing up faster and faster as the song looped writing this review because of how hyped I was getting. Its effect it will have on listeners is inevitable, and if I don’t hear this song on the title screen of the next NHL game I’ll be very disappointed.

Author: Nicholas Gaudet

Music producer and writer from Dieppe, Canada.