At a time when many young bands are afraid to rock (and emo is often a pitiful attempt at linking Nirvana's garage angst with Blink-182's whiny ways), Aftershocker (http://www.aftershocker.com) say it out loud: "Born to Rock." These lads are whip out the last remaining glammy guitars from the '80s with classic moves adopted from the Rolling Stones, Iggy Pop, and vintage Aerosmith.
While groups like the Black Crowes and Buckcherry have attempted to marry '70s FM rock-radio flavors with modern production values to varying degrees of success, they were more like one-trick ponies; Aftershocker, similarly indebted to bell-bottom icons, are more versatile, leaping from the bluesy raunchiness of "Nasty Nancy" to the heavy-metal thunder of "Self Delusion" to the piano contemplation of "Same Song."
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Nevertheless, despite their versatility Aftershocker hit their full-blast peak when they're simply rocking out, such as on "Song for a Friend" with its fuzzed-out riffs. Comparisons to AOR staples are not surprising; Aftershocker aren't trying to win medals for originality. But isn't great to hear vocal harmonies in rock again, such as on "Same Song"?
"Roommate's Girlfriend" is particularly funny; like AC/DC, Aftershocker aren't shy about having a naughty sense of humor. It's also a good drinking track, much like most of this CD.
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