UFO are the thinking rockers’ denim-and-beer buffet. Frustratingly erratic at times, their rough and tumble riffing has always been more Marquis of Queensbury than Street Fightin’ Man. So where stands this, their 21st studio release, in the pantheon?
It starts off at warp speed with the frantic Christopher Walken-approved cowbell honk of chunky opener ‘Flight Night’. The harder rock edge is back. The blues feel is intact. The groove is stacked. It’s a history lesson in UFO musicology. ‘Wonderland’ displays a harder Judas Priest-inspired driving-neck-snap a la ‘Electric Eye’. Phil Mogg strangles and contorts his lyrics into a lascivious smirking vocal line, taunting the music to bring-it-on. ‘Mojo Town’ spits forth the big sex riff descending from on high, courtesy of the thunder of the hammer gods. Then it’s abrupt gear shift time. The ballad ‘Angel Station’ has Mogg getting his Joe Cocker gospel growl on, over a soaring Whitesnake blues meander as Vinnie Moore effortlessly flexes the fretboard in understated counterpoint. The sentinel sentiments of ‘Burn Your House Down’ is all seduction and danger. A Venus Flytrap watching with a cold and distanced eye as a maelstrom of emotions swirl inside. Such high standards may not be maintained across the whole album — ‘The Fear’ is a lightweight bar-room jam, while ‘Waving Goodbye’ has the feel of a throwaway Bob Seger session — but this can be excused by the quality on display when they hit the mark.