Thanks to our good friend, Bruce at The Not Lame label, we have the awesome return of The Shazam with Meteor. The Shazam went through some significant changes since Tomorrow The World in 2003; new bassist/backing vocalist Mike Vargo replaced Mick Wilson in 2004. Lead vocalist Hans Rotenberry and Jeremy Asbrock are back with plenty of guitar crunch and killer hooks that brings to mind the bastard son of Cheap Trick, T.Rex and The Sweet. The sound is classic power pop helped in part by the legendary producer Mack (Queen, ELO). The vintage guitar chords get things started on a high note with “So Awesome.” This is music you play loud and jump around doing air guitar to. The mid-tempo “Don’t Look Down” is a big fat rock anthem that is one of many album highlights. Next comes “NFU” (Not F_’ed Up ) which is another fast paced gem with loud harmonies along the lines of Queen. “Disco At The Fairgrounds” sounds like it fell straight off of the “Sheer Heart Attack” LP. And “Dreamcrusher Machine” reminds me a little of The Strokes mixed with Urge Overkill as well. The album falls a bit short of the classic Godspeed the Shazam, but there is plenty here to celebrate. Lots of fun is to be had with “I Got The Bomb,” it’s faux Ramones chorus, and the guitar frenzied “Time for Pie” to close out this collection. We hope to hear more from this talented bunch (and hopefully we won’t have to wait another five years).
My Space | Itunes | Shazam Store | Not Lame
Listen to a clip from “So Awesome”
Listen to a clip from “Time For Pie”