The Shazam - Tomorrow The World - 2002

Rev. 9 suggested that the Shazam had brought the artier, psychedelic strands of their music to their logical conclusion, concluding that EP with an "interesting" epic but not-very-rock & roll cover of the Beatles' "Revolution 9" (do Beatles fans even play through that song without hitting "skip"?). But a funny thing happened between 2000 and 2002 — rock & roll, played loud and loose, became popular again. The Shazam always were a funny fit for the pop underground — sure, they write hooks, but they are really a decidedly retro arena rock band through and through — so it was no stretch to see them take an adventurous step toward joining the garage rock revival — and in the process get some increased attention. What's surprising (or not, depending on your viewpoint) is that Tomorrow the World sounds...well, it sounds like the Shazam always has. Brad Jones is again in the producer's chair, and very little of this material would've sounded out of place on their storming 1999 album Godspeed the Shazam, and vice versa, even if there's less emphasis here on crafting Beatles-y hooks and more on building up a stadium-sized crunch. That means that there are a few songs that frontman Hans Rotenberry has described as "dumb riff" songs — tunes like "New Thing Baby" or "Rockin' and Rollin' (With My) Rock 'n' Roll Rock 'n' Roller," which are really just vehicles for delivering a punishing guitar assault and killer riffs. These songs work really, really well, however, because Rotenberry is a truly talented songwriter, meaning he writes these dopey, hedonistic stadium anthems as well as he does gorgeous retro pop. The band's pop underground cult will likely cry foul at the absence of ringing Rickenbackers, but realistically this is exactly the kick-in-the-pants that scene needed from one of their most popular, most visible, and hardest-rocking acts. -AMG

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The Shazam - Tomorrow The World - 2002