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  • Writer's pictureThe Wizard

Power it Up!


Band: AC/DC

Album: Power Up

Label: Columbia Records

Style: Hard Rock

Release Date: 11/13/2020

This fall, it seems a lot of the old guard rockers are putting out excellent albums. Blue Oyster Cult stunned the world with its fantastic new release, the crunching guitars and soaring melodies a return to the old power of the band. Bruce Springsteen released a cool new record that reached into parts of his past and adapted those styles into something new and fresh, yet still creaking like old, worn to perfect comfort leather. Now AC/DC emerge, returning with their first album in years, following a season of tumult and confusion, death and resurrection. What does this new record hold?

Song by song, then:

“Realize” opens the album with a solid groove, classic AC/DC, throbbing with power and cruising with pure class. That chorus, like all the choruses on this record, is built for an arena. It’s an excellent start, the band reclaiming who they are but adding a touch of something new, an assured confidence that borders on cocky.

“Rejection” is another sledgehammer groove, the guitars and drums working together to pummel the listener. This is mean AC/DC, heavy but peppered with old-time rock n’ roll to keep it from turning ugly.

“Shot in the Dark” is classic 80s AC/DC, which is a theme that will come up over and over again as this album plays out. This one would sound right at home on Back in Black, although it is a bit brighter sounding than those songs. The chorus is big and tasty, as is the entire composition. This one swings.

“Through the Mists in Time” is a weird one, light and sentimental, not quite a ballad, but softer than what you’re used to hearing from this band. It feels almost…tender. It powers up (get it?) on the chorus but never threatens to beat you up, as do so many other songs here. It has Angus’ best solo on the record, and something about the weirdness of it makes it an underdog contender for best song on the record.

“Kick You When You’re Down” at first comes across as generic AC/DC album filler. Then this sweet little riff slides in like a nasty snake to bite you on the ass. I don’t know, it still feels generic, but it grows more and more on me with each listen. That riff, man…

“Witch’s Spell” has that cruise, that breezy, smooth, roll down your windows and ride on the highway, baby thing that makes AC/DC so enjoyable. One of the best tracks on the album, in my opinion. Love the chorus. Again, big and bouncy 80s arena rock.

“Demon Fire” is just past the halfway point and comes across initially as filler, and then it rumbles forward, dancing on a slick riff that brings the up-tempo boogie that AC/DC needs to explore more. They are very happy in their mid-paced stomp (and hey, they’re masters at that, so why not?), but this brings some pep to the proceedings and gets those toes a-tappin’. Once more, so 80s that For Those About to Rock is accusing it of theft. This would be an excellent B-side on a single and a real stormer in concert.

“Wild Reputation” brings things back down, smoothing out all that ruckus into another head-bobber. I dunno about this one. Quintessential album-filler material, but it ain’t bad.

“No Man’s Land” has a really nice groove, sweet and slow, easy and sleazy but not pornographic. I like the grind of it, the slowness and the sweet kisses it peppers you on the neck with, but man, it feels like we’ve been here dozens of times before. Not knocking it at all and it certainly doesn’t sound tired, but…Well, hell, it has been growing on me with each subsequent listen. I’ll just call it Classic AC/DC and let it go at that.

“Systems Down” does the AC/DC thing and does it well, but to be fair, is mildly unremarkable. This song could be on any of their albums, which shows its strength, but also shows its disposability. One of those songs you won’t think of on its own but will groove to when you play the record again, if that makes sense. Nice solo, though.

“Money Shot” is just that, a look back the glory days but again, at this point I guess fatigue has set in and the excitement of new AC/DC has worn off. The solo is great and the song is very solid, but also something that doesn’t really stand out.

“Code Red” is a great closer; heavy, groovy, kind of funky, swaggering with confidence. Here’s a song I’d love to hear live and yes, it’s big and ugly but pretty at the same time. That 80s sound returning here, the bombastic chorus begging to be sung for and by a big arena audience.

Here’s the long and short of it: AC/DC has made an excellent album. There’s a lot to really love on here, most of it stacked in the front half, but a couple of gems to be found on the backside. They don’t reinvent what they do and they certainly don’t try to be too clever for themselves. This is Angus and the boys laying it down like they always have and doing it damned well. If you want that in a group of new songs, you can’t go wrong here. I think it’s probably the best thing they’ve done since the 90s and if they cut out a song or two, they would have created a meaner, leaner album. But hey, who’s going to complain about more AC/DC songs? Not me.

The Wizard Has Spoken!

✪✪✪✪☆





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