Review by Rob Broom for MPM
The perfect summer rock album. Put the top down, turn up the volume and let’s go cruising with with the Jetset!
Now listen up, last year American Jetset were working hard and released some thundering, powerful rock music, including the fantastic EP ‘Love Kills’ and some single cuts. This year they have gone one stage further by releasing a new album ‘1987’ and it’s a monster! It’s 2024 meeting the 1980s and what’s not to like!
Starting with a glorious call to arms from Ian Kaine MacGregor (Lead Vocals, Guitar, Piano and Synth’s) which then merges into the triumphant fist pumping opener ‘Devil You Know’. This pounds away mercilessly, is a great way to get the party started and you can be excused for feeling exhausted at the end of it! Combining the best of 1980s pumping rock and roll, it’s Motley Crue meeting Ratt and Poison in a dark alley. Should be absolutely epic live!
Title cut ‘1987’ is next up and – like much of the album and as the band themselves have acknowledged – is a self contained love letter to the 1980’s, but to my ears it is still modern and relevant. The Sunset Strip can come alive again in 2024 to the sounds of this rocking tune as it blasts out of the speakers! This is good time rock and roll at its very best. Turn it up to 11!
Third track ‘Blackout Summer Nights’ kicks and punches along with plenty of swagger and confidence. A joyful look back on youth gone wild. Again this should be tremendous live and terrific to sing along to while you jump up and down!
Guitars run riot and it’s pedal to the metal with ‘Under Blue Skies’. This is a really uptempo tune, the rhythm section of Kevin Harrington (Bass and Background vocals) and Jeff Bradford (Drums) are really dialled in and Skinz Skinsacos (Lead Guitar) adds some superb guitar work to close the song out. Air guitars at the ready for this one when its played live.
Get your lighters (or mobile phones if we are keeping up to date!) in the air for the bittersweet ‘Til Heaven Will Have Me’. This soars and swoops along with majesty and power. It can proudly stand alongside the greatest of rock ballads from the likes of Poison and Bon Jovi. It tells a story, has some great harmony and feeling along with some wonderful guitar moments.
Jagged guitar riffs and pounding drums open ‘Strangers’, a pulsating tune that romps along with its heart on its sleeve. There is some really good vocal work from Ian on this song and the whole band really nail the sound. There’s more great guitar work layered over the top to complement an absolute standout tune.
‘The Flame’ is not too be confused with the Cheap Trick song of the same name, but as it rattles along with its catchy lyric and chorus, the song structure certainly has plenty in common with Cheap Trick, even though it is some 770 miles to Jetsets Baltimore hometown from Rockford, Illinois. Arguably there’s a tease of Ratt in this one as well, but comparisons aren’t really necessary, American Jetset are very much their own band with their own identity and sound. My daughter knew instantly who this was when she heard it.
Final song ‘My Farewell’ is a simple vocal with piano accompaniment. Whilst it has a tinge of melancholy it is not an end. The song is more optimistic than the poignant and haunting lament of the magnificent ‘Long Road To Nowhere’ from last years storming ‘Love Kills’ EP.
American Jetset have really pulled a rabbit out of the hat with this album. ‘1987’ has a cohesiveness and vibe about it that just feels and sounds absolutely perfect. Whilst on one hand the band are paying homage to their musical roots, on the other they are not just living in the past. The album has a freshness and excitement to it that – as I mentioned earlier – makes ‘1987’ modern, relevant and perhaps most importantly, joyful and fun to listen to. You can’t help but just smile and sing along as the tunes blast out.
Being critical for a moment, the album could be longer, because you are most definitely left wanting more, but I would imagine the mastering for vinyl should mean this album will totally bang out of the grooves so there is some very positive upside!
On the subject of production, the band ran a successful crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo a few months ago to help with the recording costs for this album. As I believe in putting my money where my mouth is (buying music rather than just streaming helps artists make a living and means they can make more music) I backed the campaign, but didn’t go for the full ‘Monster’ package (just the vinyl and T shirt for me) and do I regret it now! But as we know, life is full of regrets and tears, just like a classic 1980s song! Seriously though, this was a good idea by the band to help get the project underway. They have also just signed to a new record label (Golden Robot Records) and so momentum is currently on the bands side. All in all this should really get American Jetset the wider success and recognition they deserve. Their recorded work over the past few years has most definitely been trending upwards!
Whilst without doubt this is the perfect summer rock album, it is also an instant contender for my album of the year so don’t miss out, hitch a ride today in the Jetset Cadillac!
With this record American Jetset prove they can consistently deliver blistering, quality rock and roll to your listening device of choice and you are going to get nothing but a good time, so don’t delay, buy today and let the good times roll!
Pre-order vinyl and CDs now @ bit.ly/3JtVcPs
