Atomic Bitch Wax : " Scorpio"

I really liked their last album it reminded me of a methed out version of the Foo Fighters, they pick up where they left when this album kicks off, though the groove to the second song works better than the more ballistic opener.  Despite being very up tempo, " Ninja" is basically these guys jamming, crammed with guitar solos. Things are much more rock n roll this time around. I like how the vocals are produced on the title track. They are not quite as hooky as the last album, but beginning to head in that direction. "Easy Action" is a more stomping take on 70s rock. The boogie of "Crash" is where things started to run together for me . It has a "Missippi Queen" feel going into it. It is another very jammy song.

This is not the only instrumental . There is another and while I am sure theywill sound great live with the bass solos and everything, these kinds of songs tend to get minimal air time from me when it comes to  casual iPod listening. They are great musicians , but instrumentals tend to be fast forward classics. "Super Sonic" has a pretty impressive "Free Bird " like climax in the middle. The vocals feel a little more obligatory. They still have the jammy thing going on. The vocals do provide more of a form and function frame work for it. "You Got It "  starts off a little more metallic if we are talking Judas Priest. The vocals are more attitude than pipes being flexed. This album is a little heavier than "Force Field".  "Betting Man" has a better groove and more purpose to the vocals so it is a winner in my book.

It ends with another instrumental. Everything I said about instrumentals earlier in the review still applies here. If you are a fan of their more jammy instrumental side then you are going to love this album. As for me I am rounding it down to a 8.5 for this reason. Last time they gave us some really solid catchy songs, while there are a few here, it sounds like they are having more fun playing these songs, than I am listening to them. With that said it is still a solid album my expectations are just high. This album comes out August 28th on Tee Pee Records/