MIDNITE CITY – There Goes The Neighbourhood

The new Midnite City album There Goes the Neighbourhood, their second, opens with a vignette as appropriate as it is regressive, namely a soundbite from the breakthrough Poison video of “Nothin’ But A Good Time”. A make-up free Brett Michaels is washing dishes in some greasy spoon and is given a verbal dressing down by his manager for moving at two speeds—“Slow…and stop!”. Even better, what kicks off the vignette is a few bars of Poison’s cover of the Kiss Klassic “Rock And Roll All Nite”. Thus having neatly summarized their lineage, Midnite City flows effortlessly into the first of eleven Hair-y cuts, the note and sentiment perfect “Here Comes The Party”.

There’s a lot to like on the album for anyone with even a cursory affection for bands like Poison, Kiss, Kix, Bon Jovi, Ratt, and Def Leppard—singer Rob Wylde has a great voice and he knows how to write songs in the Hair idiom; he’s got big anthems (“Give Me Love”, “We’re Gonna Make It”)and some equally big power ballads (“You Don’t Understand Me”, “Heaven’s Falling)”. The band is tight and seems to enjoy playing these big tunes, and they lay down some exceptional vocal harmonies. The best track, “Life Ain’t Like This On The Radio”, would be a hit single–one of several from the album– in a better world than this one.

Considering all the fun to be had on this record, he jacket is a bit confusing in an icky mid-seventies Scorpions kind of way. The inadequate skirting fits the genre conventions well enough, but the apparent murder seems out of place on an album essentially about partying and falling in love.

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