TSAR - Self Titled
Hollywood/USA
Where to slot this one in the genre bin may be extremely difficult. Two parts hair band, one part Cheap Trick, and one part Superdeluxe all go into making this one hell of a release. Doesn't sound like an appealing combination? The first time through, I was thinking about where to put my new coaster. But after a couple more listens, I was completely hooked. It kicks ass without being adolescent, throws in subtle harmonies without being sappy, and gives plenty of hooks to snare even the most finicky fan of pop on the heavy side. The only two songs I still occasionally skip past are 'Afradio' and 'Ordinary Girl', both of which are too 80's for my tastes, the former on the faux-metal side, the latter a typical obligatory-ballad-from-a-hair-band sounding cut that misses in my opinion. The standout is the closer, 'The Girl Who Wouldn't Die', another on the slow side, but one which takes the Oasis style to ballads. For the best pure pop, tune into 'Kathy Fong Is The Bomb' and 'Monostereo', killer cuts in their own right. Maybe a part of me still won't let the 80's die, and I'm still surprised I like this as much as I do. Even if you don't consider yourself a fan of the old hair bands, surely there were bits and pieces of that era that caught your ear. Tsar seems to have captured those same fragments, added some harmonies and hooks in all the right spots, and scored a hit with their debut.
Top Cuts: The Girl Who Wouldn't Die. Kathy Fong Is The Bomb, Calling All Destroyers.
SCOTT PAZUR (8)
A punky pop band, Tsar has big guitars, sassy vocals, cute haircuts, accessible tunes: they're very slick and very LA. They're also nothing new. They smack a little too much of marketing, too much contrived attitude, kind of like a cross between N'Sync and Motley Crue. Except no synchronized dancing and probably not as many piercings. Enough said to justify a low rating? No? Read on......
Produced to formula by Rob Cavallo of Green Day/Goo Goo Dolls fame, Tsar's clearly got Blink 182's chart position in their crosshairs. There's a load of riff-heavy, radio-ready brat-rock, a power ballad ('Ordinary Girl') and some teen-idol fodder. Still, 'Calling All Destroyers' is catchy, a teen-insurrection toon with a Redd Kross-y vibe. 'Kathy Fong Is The Bomb' is effective glam-punk (and you gotta give props to a song that namechecks Rudi Protrudi) and 'The Girl Who Wouldn't Die' is surprisingly expansive. It's not all bad news. It's just that Tsar fails to create any impression of a distinct character beyond the video-friendly, fairly interchangeable guitar bands that populate your local modrock station's playlist.
JULIE LEDFORD (2.5)
Large sounding arena-ready powerpop that pulls some occasional glam moves. This is most apparent on 'Kathy Fong Is The Bomb', where the group pays homage to Sweet by borrowing a riff from the chorus of that band's 'Hellraiser'. Other clear reference points are Redd Kross, Tal Bachman and E'Nuff Z'Nuff. Producer Rob Cavallo and mixer extrodinaire Chris Lord-Age give Tsar an explosive sound that is made for blasting out of car stereos on the way to the beach, the arcade or the skateboard park. A slew of teen friendly anthems written by frontman Jeff Whalen, such as 'Teen Wizards', 'Silver Shifter' and 'I Don't Wanna Break-up' are at the heart of the disc. Throw in some rousing harmony vocals (another nod to Sweet), nifty dual lead guitars (here's to you Thin Lizzy) and a constant level of high spirits (on par with the Undertones and Starjets) and you can make a case that rock and roll still has some life in it. The raise-your-fist-in-the-air rockers are complimented by some impressive ballads. 'Ordinary Girl' is a power-ballad nearly on par with E'Nuff Z'Nuff's 'Fly High Michelle', while 'The Girl Who Wouldn't Die' sounds like Cheap Trick doing a NEW WORLD RECORD-era number from ELO. Let's hope Tsar, in a reversal from history, can begin a pop revolution for the masses.
MIKE BENNETT (8)