In the late eighteenth century the British made claims to Australia and turned it into penal colony for their lawfully impaired. That could explained why the country has been exporting beer soaked bands for years most notable AC/DC. The latest band to follow in their footsteps is Jet who exploded on the scene in 2003 with ruckus bar brawl starters such as Are You Gonna Be My Girl and Cold Hard (Expletive Deleted). They even threw in the creepy balled Look What You’ve Done for good measure.
Now three years after the release of Get Born is the ban’s follow up Shine On. The album teeters between the alcohol anthems of their last album and a new sound and nowhere is that more prevalent than on the lead single Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is. The verses are downed by falsetto that you would expect on a Justin Timberlake album if he brought in a real rhythm section complete with cowbell, but the chorus is when the band gets back to basis when lead singer Nic Cester breaks out his trademark whiskey drowned voice that catapulted the band onto rock radio in the first place.
The newer sound seems to come from listening to the Beatles, there’s even a song about a girl named Eleanor although we don’t learn her last name. But the songs with the Beatles influence end up sounding like the Beatles threw an Oasis filter. Not so coincidentally the producer on the album, Dave Sardy, also produced Oasis’ last album. Oddly enough, for a band whose came to prominence with bombast anthems, some of the best songs on this set are the balled. Kings Horses shuffles along like something of Oasis’ first album. Shine On builds and falls much like Look What You’ve Done but without the bitterness. But for my money I’ll stick with the beer-soaked songs that I’d expect from the band like Holiday, That’s All Lies, and Rip it Up. And a word of advice for Cester, make sure you include more whiskey in your diet before you record the next album.
Song to Download - Holiday
Shine On gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.
Hi Scooter, thanks for your interest in my blog. Sorry I didn't chose you this time but please apply again. I am an Aussie and I must add that the wonderful exuberant spirit of this country evolved from the `Irish Poor' who were deported here and who thrived in a land of space and opportunity. Their humor and inability to accept pretension is part of this nation today.
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