Review: Social Code - Rock N Roll

Social Code - Rock N Roll
2010, Fifth Season Music

Edmonton, Alberta is the home to Social Code, the quartet led by vocalist Travis Nesbitt that has created waves in the Canadian Rock scene since their 2004 debut, A Year At The Movies. Social Code return with their third album (and US debut), Rock N Roll on March 23, 2010. Social Code is already impacting heavily on Canadian Radio with the opening single, Satisfied, and the future looks very bright indeed.

Talk about melting your face. Social Code doesn't just hit a home run with Rock N Roll, they tear the cover off the ball and pound the cork core into smithereens. Opening with the title track, Social Code eschews cliché by thoroughly failing to break into the big rock sound you expect to explode part way through the song. Travis Nesbitt’s tortured, needful vocal is more a song of longing than celebration; raw in emotion and powerful. It's a surprising and compelling start, and is likely to be talked about as one of the best Rock songs of the year. Nothing Left To Lose will put to rest any questions about whether Social Code is for real, ripping into a big Classic Rock sound that's part Aerosmith, part Whitesnake and part Bob Seger. Add in the big rock chorus and Arena-rock harmonies and you have something bordering on an instant classic.

Satisfied is an honest, up-front one night stand song. It's full of the testosterone-laden braggadocio and big hooks; a well-written tune with a high commercial ceiling. Perfect Grave is a sharp left turn, focusing on the death of a loved one at their own hand. It's a song of mourning as well as a statement of strength and perseverance. Creed fans will love the big open sound, which does sound a bit formulaic, but the content is meaty enough to avoid a purely "commercial rock" label. Social Code hits radio gold on Buy Buy Buy, a highly danceable dose of Rock N Roll that get you moving from it's opening notes and will stick with you.

Fight For Love is a strong Rocker with real Mix Tape potential; a romantic hip-shaker that's just great songwriting. You Never Know You Got Until It's Gone reminded me a bit of Sammy Hagar-era Van Halen because of the guitar work. The song itself is built on a great melody and a big hook, and is likely to be a fan favorite. I'm Not Okay goes a bit above and beyond the usual rock ballad; dealing with heartbreak in unvarnished terms. The songwriting here is surprisingly good, producing a song that's not only memorable but meaningful. Social Code close with Too Late For Tomorrow, a bit of a comedown from the rest of Rock N Roll, but decent for all that. I guess you could call it a safe, soft landing.

Social Code manages to put forward a highly commercial sound on Rock N Roll without sounding like they're trying to. There's a talent to this that some artists simply possess. It can't be taught or acquired, it's more of a touch. Whatever you want to call it, Social Code has it and exploits it thoroughly on Rock N Roll. It's hard to predict the next ten-plus months, but it's hard to imagine Social Code not landing on year-end lists with Rock N Roll (the album), and if there were ever a breakout Rock tune waiting to happen, it's Rock N Roll (the song). Make sure you introduce yourself to Social Code. I have a feeling they're going to be sticking around the party for a long time to come.

Rating: 5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Social Code at http://www.socialcodemusic.com/ or www.myspace.com/socialcode. Rock N Roll drops March 23, 2010. You can pre-order a copy from Amazon.com, but expect wide availability across traditional and virtual retail as well digitally.

Review: Foreigner - Can't Slow Down

Foreigner - Can't Slow Down
2009, Rhino/Atlantic

During the 1980's, few bands were as prevalent on both Pop and Classic Rock radio as Foreigner. Hits such as Cold As Ice, I Want To Know What Love Is, Feels Like The First Time, Urgent and Hot Blooded were as familiar to music fans as a song can be. When then-vocalist Lou Gramm departed the band I lost track of Foreigner and was frankly surprised to see that they had a new album coming out in 2009. Can't Slow Down hits shelves on September 29, 2009 as a three-disc (2 CDs/1 DVD) collection available exclusively at Walmart stores. For any surprise I may have had the fact of the release, it was an even bigger surprise, and pleasure, to discover that Can't Slow Down is a surprisingly vibrant and relevant Pop/Rock album.

Disc One of Can't Slow Down consists of thirteen new tracks; a mix of rockers and ballads that have the same sort of hungry energy that Foreigner had when they first broke into the music business. The title track is a brilliant bit of Rock N Roll and a tribute to NASCAR inspired by Foreigner's performance at the 2009 Samsung 500 at Texas Motor Speedway. Can't Slow Down will get a lot of play from NASCAR and their fans, and might just be the best driving song since Sammy Hagar's I Can't Drive 55. In Pieces depicts a relationship at a crossroads. Things have fallen apart, but the narrator is asking where to from here? This isn't a kiss off song, but one full of love and acceptance of the present that still holds some hope for the future. When It Comes To Love is much more melancholy, looking back on a relationship past and what might have been, having realized that what he had is what he wants; the perfect song for the lovelorn.

Longtime fans of Foreigner will be more than pleased with Give Me A Sign, which sounds like it could have been lifted right off one of their early albums, and I'll Be Home Tonight also has their signature sound in a ballad that has serious chart potential. My favorite track on the disc, however, is a number called Too Late. This too has the classic Foreigner sound, and a vivacity that is striking. The chorus will get stuck in your head and stay there all day long. If I had to pick one song to release as a single from the album it would be As Long As I Live, a classic ballad that's certain mix-tape magic. Adult-Contemporary and even Pop radio could make this a huge hit. Rockers Living In A Dream, Ready and Angel Tonight also will be certain crowd pleasers, as is the ballad I Can't Give Up. Can't Slow Down closes out the new material with Fool For You Anyway, a soul-flavored Rock ballad that might have even more potential than As Long As I Live.

Disc Two consists of remixes of some of Foreigner's most famous songs, done by Marti Frederiksen (Aerosmith, Buckcherry, Guitar Hero) and Anthony Focx (Guitar Hero). Hits such as Feels Like The First Time, Cold As Ice, Hot Blooded, Head Games, I Want To Know What Love Is and Jukebox Hero get retooled to clean up the sound of the sometimes thirty-year old master recordings. The DVD included in the package features live performances of some of Foreigner's biggest hits, including performances from their most recent European tour. Also included is a documentary about the making of Can't Slow Down and footage of the Walmart shareholders meeting where the deal was made to release this album exclusively.

Aside from a clip on the DVD that panders a bit too much to the Walmart shareholders' egos, Can't Slow Down is perhaps the most exciting release from Foreigner since the late 1980's. You never know what you're going to get when one of these long acts releases new material, but Foreigner is as vital and relevant today as they were twenty-five years ago. The re-tooling of the classic material simply improves on the sound quality and definition of the recordings, a treatment they should have received some time ago. Foreigner has proved that they Can't Slow Down; let's hope that never changes.

Rating: 4 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Foreigner at http://www.foreigneronline.com/ or www.myspace.com/foreignermusic. Can’t Slow Down drops on September 29, 2009. You can pre-order your copy at Amazon.com.

Review: Isaac James - Too Much Horsepower

Isaac James - Too Much Horsepower
2009, Protocol Entertainment

Isaac James still believe in Rock N Roll, mixing Classic and Modern Rock with deliberate elements of the Grunge movement to create a vibrant and forward thinking sound with distinct roots in the past. James's debut CD, Too Much Horsepower [EP] was recorded in the Spring of 2009 and has already garnered James attention from media and record labels.

Too Much Horsepower opens with Hey, sounding like a cross between the Sammy Hagar of Van Halen and Soundgarden. James is a capable vocalist and guitarist, and his backing band is as tight as can be. Hey is ready for Modern Rock radio (the question is whether Modern Rock Radio is ready for James). James slows things down a tad on Reckless to mourn the loss of a connection and yearns to know whether the person on the other side of that divide feels the same. The chorus is steeped in angst and repressed anger, borne out in the detached yet rocking guitar wall that girds it. Think Twice carries a big rock stick and harkens back to the hair metal of the 1980's, but doesn't quite come up to the level of the rest of the material here. James shows a slower, bluesy side on Satisfied. This is classic hard rock balladeering; a required component of any big Rock album of the 1980's Glam/hair movement, and James fits the part perfectly here.

Too Much Horsepower is a strong first effort from Isaac James. There is a definite talent for writing that is in the process of growing here. How far it goes it mostly up to James. Too Much Horsepower has two songs ready for primetime and two that aren't quite there, but it's a great start.

Rating: 3 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Isaac James at http://www.isaacjamesband.com/. You can purchase Too Much Horsepower as either a CD or download through CDBaby.com.