Upon receipt of #EIGHT, I popped in the CD in anticipation of new music by Sideburn, only to quickly do a double take and say 'hey, what happened to these guys...that doesn't sound like the Sideburn I know', only to realize that this isn't the Swedish Sideburn, but the veteran band of the same name from Switzerland. These bands really need to stop doing this to us!
Anyway, this is album number eight from these Swiss hard rockers, a fun collection of commercial '80s styled hard rock. Hooks are a plenty as well as AC/DC or KISS styled guitar riffs, and in fact, if you are a fan of either of those bands, you will find a lot to love about #EIGHT. Roland Pierrhumbert has a voice that combines Bob Scott, Brian Johnson, Marc Storace, Dan McCafferty, and a bit of Ralf Scheepers, and combined with the simple song structures and party atmosphere, you have an album that's quite, well AC/DC-ish. Not that this is a bad thing, as tunes like "Drop Zone", "All the While", and "No More Room in Hell" are loads of fun despite their obvious simplicity. The band even occasionally dip into Lynyrd Skynyrd/ZZ Top styled Southern bluesy rock, as on "Get You Ride On" and "Driving On the Main Line". Best song has to be "Long Road to Paradise", with its shuffling rhythms, Angus Young styled guitar work, and bluesy hard rock swagger.
While #EIGHT certainly is an enjoyable listen, at 13 tracks it's a bit too overloaded, and a few of the songs are somewhat interchangeable with each other. Also, if you crave originality, you won't get that here, but the band seem to have had a blast recording this one and it shows. For mindless hard rocking fun, this one's easy to recommend.
See more about this release on our recent YouTube show!
Track Listing
01. All The While 04:21
02. Call Me A Doctor 03:07
03. Turn Away 04:15
04. Drop Zone 03:55
05. Get You Ride On 04:06
06. No More Room In Hell 03:33
07. Driving On The Main Line 04:17
08. Give Me A Sign 03:00
09. Long Road To Nowhere 04:28
10. Save Your Soul 03:35
11. Got To Move On 04:15
12. No Class 02:39
13. Wings Of Liberty (Bonus Track) 03:49
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