Review by Josh Felty
Rating: *****
Wigwam is to glam rock what The Black Keys are to old-time Southern blues rock. They're quite reminiscent of those headier days, when Queen and Motley Crue ruled the airwaves and sold vinyl like it was going out of style, they're so ecstatic to be making that sort of music and in doing so take themselves about as seriously as Christopher Guest and Company did with Spinal Tap, and to top it all off are Norwegian!
The smorgasbord of vitality and bouncing-off-the-walls energy we're treated to in Non-Stop Rock'n Roll is nothing short of a damn rock 'n roll miracle. I really don't know any other way to describe it. It's a time machine back to that late 70's/early 80's period where glam was all the rage and then some; Bowie was long over his Ziggy Stardust phase and Alice Cooper had shocked audiences the world over. It was time for a new breed, which would metamorphize into Twisted Sister, Poison, and Motley Crue. Cinderella, Ratt, Quiet Riot, and Warrant. I could go on and on...
All the songs on Non-Stop add up to an eclectic, pulsating box of goodies, starting first off with "Do You Wanna Taste It?" which reminded me somewhat of Def Lep, in a good way. The guitar wailings on "Walls Come Down" recall that classic Sunset Strip sound, as do the virtuous power chord actions on "Wild One", itself a hook-filled rocker. "C'Mon Everybody" sounds like the sort of composition that would have teased-hair beauties flashing their bosoms while waving their hands side to side, as does "Chasing Rainbows". And if power ballads are your forte, as any hair rocker with a heart will attest, "Man in the Moon" and "From Here" will have you lighting a Bic and holding it to the rafters.
I can practically see the myriad of flames.
I really loved this album, very reminiscent of Airbourne's Angus Young leanings and this year's big Freddy Mercury-laced surprise in Foxy Shazam. Again, the ode-induced ground that Wigwam covers is so expansive it's hard to really pen down all the influences, which is a great thing. They've taken the time to really come into their own instead of all-out imitation (again the highest form of flattery, to a point). I would really love to see these guys live, sounds like they really have fun with their music...
...perhaps so much so that they're chucking TV's outta hotel room windows as you, Faithful Readership, view this.