keepers - 4
Seemingly paying homage to a version of the lowest common denominator, between the kooky lyrics and the busy melodic keyboard lines The Cars seem to be the starting point. The opening title song**** has all the punch of an 80's classic. By "Future Shock" silly lines such as "because I need you girl I'm in a whole nother world when you waste my time" seem stylized, but at least the intro is cool. The synth-pop "Strange Living" is an amusing diversion from the steady new wave course, though the big rock ending is completely unnecessary. But in the middle of the album the formula finally pays off, maybe because the arena rock riffing in "The Sun's Rays"**** and singalong chorus of "New Recruits" sound great live. The best of these is hilariously campy "The Professor"****, who "knows everything and he won't tell me", an arena-rock take on Oingo Boingo. But as song continue to be built around lines like "what's your rationale, hey hey what's your rationale", the album seems to be running out of steam and can be concluded with a slightly psychedelic "Solitary Zone".
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