Album Review: Cheap Trick - "In Another World"

 

Back after a short break, it's good to see Cheap Trick back again. The group seemed to be on a bit of a purple patch about five years ago with two great albums surfacing in the space of 12 months (2016's Bang, Zoom, Crazy...Hello and 2017's We're All Alright!) but have been quiet since then. However, once the pure sunshine pop of Summer Looks Good On You kicks things into gear here, it's like they've never been away especially when it's followed up by the Kinksian stomp of Quit Waking Me Up and the Beatlesesque balladry of Another World.

Now I've read a couple of reviews of this album which slated it on the ground that it wasn't really breaking any new ground and sure, the templates here are fairly obvious ones such as the Stonesy strut of Boys & Girls & Rock 'n' Roll and the quite lovely Lennon-style balladry of So It Goes. But if you're one of those pencil necked geeks who've griped about this album being too obvious then I say to you - bollocks. If you're good enough at what you do and you're packing the requisite tunes and hooks (see the storming Slade soundalike Light Up The Fire or the power pop perfection of Here's Looking At You for proof) then sticking to what you're best at is something that's easy to forgive. I mean this is Cheap Trick ferfuxxake, what are you looking for, a tedious ten minute prog opus on Balinese agricultural policy? If so, enjoy that Radiohead album some more, we'll stick to the fun side of things over here.

And you know what? There's a couple of curveballs on here which do quite nicely at keeping the variety intact thank you very much such as the lurching seasick Final Days and the driving Passing Through which sounds as if it's almost genetically designed to soundtrack some laid back summer road trip. So if you've got this band pegged as a one trick pony then I humbly suggest that you probably don't know what you're talking about and need to go take a seat at the back of the class, kidder.

Overall verdict? Well, it's a Cheap Trick album, ain't it? Nothing more, nothing less and I'm happy to report it sees the band keeping the quality at the high levels of their two mid-noughties efforts which comes firmly recommended to those who haven't terminally misplaced their sense of fun. Definitely a soundtrack to the summer in waiting here I think.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)

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