The album opens with ‘Realise’, which indeed starts so strong. The main idea of the riff is fun but it becomes tired and is over done by the halfway mark. Despite the shredding of the guitar coming along and sounding great, it feels like we are done with the song by this point. The enjoyment continues with ‘Rejection’, a blues number that has a cool feel to it, you can imagine the band laying back on this and enjoying the ride of it. Sadly it does feel a tad bland with its restraint nature but the guitars are crisp and fine.
‘Shot in the Dark’ was the big single from the bands new album; the teasing opening part is playful, an aspect of the Aussie band that I do enjoy. Vocally, Brian Johnson sounds on form, it feels like rock’n’roll 101 this track. Then the classic late 70’s/early 80’s backing shouts brings a smile to faces I bet, though the destination of the song isn’t that far down the line from the beginning.
You can finally appreciate some bass playing by ‘Through The Mists of Time’, it’s the standout aspect on a very uninteresting road trip like song. ‘Kick When You’re Down is an attempt to sound ‘fresh’ on the edited vocals, it’s a nice touch but feels a bit forced. What is so obvious is that the guitars fall flat and sound so bland, they feel lost in the verses. The middle part of the ‘PUPER UP!’ carries on being uninspired as ‘Witch’s Spell’ feels like we have to tick everything of a list to make an AC/DC record, what’s the fun in that? This jam like song sounds lost, trying to find its feet with a boring drum part and guitars going through the motions.
Yes the riff is fun on ‘Demon Fire’ and the Zeppelin opening vocals by Johnson is a nice touch, other than there is not much else riding on this songLuckily, the guitars on ‘Wild Reputation’ smell of a band who are enjoying themselves, it really nails the nostalgia aesthetic of the bands glory days. With this song, it sounds like the band know where they are going on this and it makes you trust them for the first time in ages on the LP.
Again and again we have top tier moments and then complete stale tracks, ‘No Man’s Land’ has an okay melody but it reeks of rock dullness. Then ‘Systems Down’ goes through the motions, with some cliches lyrics that are hard to swallow. I am totally not surprised about the inconsistency of the album, these guys have been pumping amazing music for a long time and now, its just for the pure fun and to keep their live set fresh. AC/DC don’t need to make a solid record from front to back, they are talented enough to at least put something together very good with every release, even when it’s surrounded by songs that just repeat cliches again and again.
I like the opening of ‘Monet Shot’ and the drum kicking in puts an extra skip in your step. It’s playful once again and the big chorus is solid, a slight up on quality from the last two tracks. To conclude, ‘Code Red’ does indeed finish ‘POWER UP! Well. How does this riff feel like a closer? It’s got swagger and the spitting nature of Johnson’s vocals is a great shift. It’s swaggering and a cool send off, the guitar playing is on form.
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