Swinging with as much firepower as a vintage
American muscle car, The Respectables get right into the groove of “That Girl”
and impress upon anyone listening just how committed to the classic rock model
they truly are. The subtly country “Wheel in My Hand” tosses some southern
twang into its melting pot of melodies, and much like “18 Wheeler,” doesn’t
stop sizzling no matter what volume we’re listening to it at. These three songs
and eight others comprise the blistering new album The Power of Rock ‘N’ Roll, The
Respectables’ first in ten years, and while they’re not glistening in pop
polish, they’re definitely the smoothest work of the group so far.
If “That Girl” has the swing, “Give Some” has the
missing sway, and uses it as a foundation for its brutally physical riffing.
“Mardi Gras,” one of the more exotic tracks on the LP, bridges the first half
of the record into the second without skipping a beat, and though it’s not as
tenacious as the title track, it isn’t lacking in lyrical substance at all. The
Power of Rock ‘N’ Roll is constructed with very diverse material, but it never
feels like a haphazard mixtape.
“Highway 20” is a smart exhibition of the band’s
terrific harmonizing as a group, and with “The Shotgun Seat,” makes for the
most rhythmically intoxicating song on the album. “As Good as Love Gets” is,
regrettably, sort of predictable percussively, but right next to it in “Oasis,”
the jaded tone of the drums gets replaced with a surreal spaciness that lends
to the introspective nature of the lyrics. “Limousine” is a little too stripped
down for my taste, but it doesn’t feel out of place in this record at all. The
Respectables had a decade to put this LP together, and you can tell that they
spent plenty of time making sure that it was everything that it could be from
both a musical and a production standpoint.
The Power of Rock ‘N’ Roll isn’t the only
juggernaut in their discography, but I do think that it’s the most fluid and
consistent release that The Respectables have chosen to share with us since forming
so many years ago. The basslines are beefy, the guitars are crunchy where it
counts, and as the music hypnotizes us with its seamless mix, the poetic
narratives in the lyrics remind us of who these guys really are, underneath the
hard-rocking persona that they’ve fashioned for themselves. To put it quite
simply, The Power of Rock ‘N’ Roll is an identity record for this band, and
it’s a worthwhile listen for curious indie fans looking for something fresh.
Lucas Kilpatrick
