After their sophomore record Shine On failed to deliver the same success that Aussie rockers Jet found with their debut album, the band temporarily went their separate ways. On first listen, I wasn’t terribly bowled over by the first few tracks on Shaka Rock; I felt as though the songs just didn’t have a whole lot of substance. As the record wore on though, tracks like “Black Hearts On Fire”, “Goodbye Hollywood”, “Seventeen” and “Times Like This” show that the band hasn’t lost their retro-inspired ability to rock at all.
Although many detractors will forever write the band off as wearing too many of their influences on their sleeves, it’s still rock n roll to me. And I like it.