I saw The Mooney Suzuki playing at this year’s Download festival and was impressed. In fact the guys set a guitar rock torch to the tent and drew in a lot of punters who were on their way to another gig. This record brings back memories of that performance, and in these worrying times makes me feel a little happier. It’s that sort of album…

USA guitar rock band Mooney Suzuki seem to know what a good time is all about and if you listen to opening track Primitive Condition, you’ll understand what I mean. Rampaging guitar riffs and machine-gun drumming dominate this song, so much so that the excellent vocal seems almost an afterthought. This is what you call ‘air conditioning’ rock style. The highlight of the album then arrives with the magnificent Alive & Amplified. It opens with darker bass-driven tones and then as if on ‘happy pills’ dramatically moves upbeat with catchy choruses, singing keyboards and soaring guitars. Charting single? I think so!

What you get on stage is what you get on this record. It’s an exuberant trad style rock performance with abundant melody and production that pours the spotlight on some of the most thrilling guitar riffs heard all year. With no bad tracks in sight, this is a fun record, no more, no less. So if you need a bit of a lift, look no further. And if this doesn’t do the trick I don’t know what will…

3.5/5