Review: Rockett Love – Galactic Circus

Pride & Joy Music (September 22^nd 2023)

Reviewer: Jason Hopper

Rockett Love is back with their third album since their self-titled debut in 2017.  While the first album did nothing for me, 2019’s ‘Greetings From Rocketland‘ was a significant step up in quality. One would not be blamed for giving the credit to the expert mixing and mastering of Erik Mårtensson; however, that did not explain it all. The songs were strong; the vibe was fun; and it sounded great. Ultimately, six tracks made it onto my playlists.

I was looking forward to the band’s new album and jumped at the chance to review ‘Galactic Circus‘. Unfortunately, my excitement faded as the album progressed. Something was missing.  The band members have not changed, and Erik once again handled the mixing and mastering. Yet, the spark from the previous album was almost nowhere to be found. I believe it came down to two things: Daniel Samuelsson’s vocals lacked the crispness and conveyed little of the excitement so prominent on the previous record, and the songs themselves simply were not as strong.

‘Never Look Back’ is a solid opener. Stefan Westerlund and Gustaf Eklund’s guitars are punchy, and Dennis Vestman’s bass and Fredrik Ahlin’s drums provide a driving beat. There is no doubting the quality of the musicianship. The vocals are a little flat but get the job done.

‘Too Much Water Under the Bridge’ has an almost identical beat, but the song is even stronger. The gruffer vocals in the verses lighten up for a chorus with a big vocal hook. A nod goes to Eklund’s guitar solo, which is a standout on the album.

My favorite track is ‘Running Out of Time’. This one is right up there with the best tracks from the previous album.  It is upbeat, full of energy, has a great chorus, and Samuelsson gives his best vocal performance. There is also another great solo that leads into an interlude with just vocals and keys before the chorus crashes down again – love this!

At this point, I’m thinking the album is on a great trajectory. Unfortunately, ‘Under the Gun’ kills the momentum. The guitars are tuned down, and the slower atmospheric vibe they are going for drags a bit. After repeated listens, this track was a bit of a grower, but it is still like hitting a pothole in the road after just getting fully up to speed.

Regarding the second half, several of the tracks start off well only to fall flat with their choruses. I missed the first chorus for ‘On the Radio’, thinking it was just part of an unusually long verse. ‘The Angels Cry’ has a great groove that made my ears perk up and my head nod to the beat, but this great intro (and excellent guitar solo and solid chorus) is squandered on a song with unnecessary vocal effects and rapid fire spoken lines that ruin the verses. ‘The Higher You Rise The Harder You Fall’ is similar with its horrible vocal delivery during the verses, which is a shame because it has one of my favorite choruses on the record. It had potential but just feels unfinished, like two song ideas were stuck together improperly. The pseudo-ballad, ‘Fly Away’, did little to stir me emotionally. ‘Last Men Standing’ is almost as disappointing as ‘The Angels Cry’. It is a decent song, but it could have been so much better. It is your typical “Rock and roll warriors” type of song, but the tempo could be a touch faster to give it more kick, and the chorus needed a key change to make it stand out.

I don’t want to end this review on a bad note though, as there is a hidden gem as Track 7. The cover of The Tubes’ ‘Talk to Ya Later’ is such a fun, punchy, near dead-ringer for the original. I hear a little of The Struts’ Luke Spiller in Samuelsson’s vocals, and it works well here. If this were on a covers album, I can’t imagine it not being the best track. It’s that good.

Rockett Love is a solid band with talented musicians who can have what it takes to construct well-regarded songs (like the aforementioned ‘Running Out of Time’). Hopefully, they can bring in an outside producer next time instead of self-producing, because they need someone to push them a little harder to bring out their best. While only three songs from Galactic Circus made my playlists this time, I will be first in line to review album number four. I believe they still have a great album coming.

Tracklist:

1. Never Look Back
2. Too Much Water Under the Bridge
3. Running Out of Time
4. Under the Gun
5. Easy Come and Easy Go
6. On the Radio
7. Talk to Ya Later
8. The Angels Cry
9. Far Away
10. Last Men Standing
11. The Higher You Rise The Harder You Fall