JET JAGUAR – Endless Nights

Sometimes it’s difficult to believe that albums like this once occupied the musical mainstream. Millennials might find this a comical proposition, but those of us who sat through ‘brat pack’ movies in the 80s will nod our heads in assent. For believe it or believe it not, back when mullets were as commonplace as TOMY calculators, melodic metal was a chart-bothering phenomenon.

Even though times (and tastes) have changed, there appears to be no shortage of retro-bands trying to forge a brave new era of FM rock. Jet Jaguar are one such an example. Hailing from Cancun in Mexico, the band takes its name from the jaguar. Not the famous brand of luxury car, but the big cat that roams the rain forests of South America.

So does the music offer up its own share of feline grace? Well, yes and no. There’s little doubt the band are competent craftsmen, yet there’s a lurking suspicion that the big melodies they’re trying grasp remain stubbornly out of reach.

Opener “Jet Ranger” surprises with analogue synth textures and a Mysterons-a-like voice issuing doomy pronouncements. After this, metallic service is resumed, with regulation minor chord progressions, big solos and suitably melodramatic vocals. So far, so the same. It’s only when the formula is repeated throughout that Jet Jaguar start to betray their limited palette of influences.

“Mr Lee” – not a tribute to a Chinese takeaway owner but a song about “giving into the night” – bounces along agreeably. “Blinding Nights” finds some Bon Joviesque “whoas” and milks them for all they’re worth. “Up to the Top” announces its arrival with spiky Van Halen riffs that resolve to a radio-ready chorus. It’s all perfectly acceptable to those whose bedrooms are forever decked in  tribute to the Sunset Strip, but the rest of us will want to look elsewhere for our kicks.