After suffering a bit of a sophomore slump with 2006's “Shine On”, plagued with personal problems as well, JET returns with its latest fusion of AC/DC riffage meets BEATLES melody sprinkled with some Glam pixie dust & glitter, with a Punk/New Wave cherry on top-it's called “Shaka Rock”.

JET released its debut “Get Born” in 2003 without much fanfare....the album really took off after “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” was used in a Ipod TV ad, and the exposure resulted in the song and album taking off, which was a refreshing burst of classic rock sensibilities fusing “BEATLE/BADFINGER” elements with high energy Angus Young riffing with a dash of Punk piss & vinegar that sounded like nothing else on rock radio at the time. Yes the band is a bit retro, but in a good way. This style of music faces extinction in the wake of the trendy, American Idol styled generic rock that clogs the airwaves these days, so I personally love when a band comes out doing something old, but is ultimately new in the current crop of sound-a-likes. A band influenced by something 30 years old vs 30 months old is perfectly fine in my eyes and is more genuine. The follow-up album, “Shine On”, was also excellent, but lacked the immediate catchy anthems of the debut album, and as a result, faded without much fanfare unfortunately. So now JET is back for round 3 with Shaka Rock. Whether anyone still cares about them in today's fickle "that was cool 3 years ago" mindset remains to be seen.

Leadoff single “She's A Genius” is basically “My Sharona” from THE KNACK in vibe, with the same choppy, angular guitar riff and drum interplay, and it hits the mark, especially if you're into the whole Powerpop sound like myself. The band certainly runs the gamut from danceableBLUR styled Britpop like “Beat On Repeat”, rootsy TOM PETTY-ish styled ballad “She Holds A Grudge”, 70s radio rock like “Goodbye Hollywood”, they hi-jack the riff from “Long Train Runnin'“ by THE DOOBIE BROTHERS on “Times Like This”, so the band definitely wears it's influences on it's sleeve. The thing is, they do it in a way that combines all of these diverse elements into the JET sound, without sounding like a clone of any of them. It works, and there is a substance to it as well in the subtle touches the band uses on the songs/arrangements....there's a lot of things that come out of left field that keep the material from being predictable.

However, there are no 'instant anthems' like “Rollover DJ” or “Are You Gonna Be My Girl” on Shaka Rock, and jocks who like THE OFFSPRING and SMASHMOUTH who liked those 2 songs are gonna be scratching their heads at some of this, and maybe your girlfriend(or boyfriend) who loved the more immediate stuff on “Get Born” might not get this right away because it's a grower, getting better with repeated listens. If you are into classic stuff like THE BEATLES, AC/DC, and general Powerpop/Punk/New Wave as well as newer british bands like STEREOPHONICS, SUPERGRASS, BLUR, etc, you'll dig this album. Highly recommended.