Review: Roxanne – Stereo Typical

Rat Pak Records (February 24th, 2023)

Reviewer: Dan Mann

Waiting five years for a follow up to 2018’s ‘Radio Silence‘ isn’t a problem really, hell the band took thirty years to release the follow up to their debut album! I’m pleased as punch that the band have carried on recording and releasing music, Roxanne are a band who I discovered quite by chance when the debut came out, bought it on a whim and loved it ever since.

After the fantastic afore mentioned ‘Radio Silence‘ and seeing them play (finally), at the Monster’s Of Rock pre-cruise party back in 2020, it just made me more impatient for more from these Californian rockers.

And so to ‘Stereo Typical‘. This is very much a more laid back affair, be it the string infused ‘Open Book‘ with it’s wonderful harmonies and acoustic guitar, or ‘Without A Rope‘ that delivers more of the same.

But what about something a bit more energetic? Don’t worry, Roxanne deliver the goods when it comes to that, ‘Keep On Keepin’ On‘ is a real foot tapper, with the involvement of a vocalist I’m a big fan of, Mr. Jeff Scott Soto. Or ‘Looks Like Rain‘ with guitarist extraordinaire Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big, Racer X), that slowly builds until Mr. Gilbert is unleashed!

Someone involved with the last album & label stablemate dUg Pinnick (King’s X) returns on ‘Only A Call Away‘ delivering some great harmonies with Roxanne‘s Jamie Brown.

As I constantly say, if the vocalist doesn’t do it for me then the album won’t work, but as I’ve already mentioned my love for the band, it’s pretty obvious that Jamie’s voice hits the target.

So is ‘Stereo Typical‘ as slow burner or an instant grab? To be honest for me it’s a mixture of both. My first listen to the album was enjoyable, but as I’ve listened to it again and again it has just grown and grown. I’m picking up on things I didn’t hear that first listen. For example, the guitar break 3/4 of the way through ‘Only A Call Away‘ is very Brian May sounding.

So there you have it. For Roxanne fans it’s a no brainer, for those of you who want a mature sounding rock album, with a less is more approach and superb song writing, ‘Stereo Typical‘ is an album to put on your ‘to buy‘ list.

Tracklist:

1.   Stereotypical
2.  Looks Like Rain (featuring Paul Gilbert)
3.  Gotta Live
4. Only A Call Away (featuring dUg Pinnick)
5. The Cost Of Living
6. Open Book
7. Waiting For Laura
8. Keep On Keepin’ On (featuring Jeff Scott Soto)
9. Until They Do
10. Without A Rope