{"id":19027,"date":"2012-03-07T18:19:35","date_gmt":"2012-03-07T23:19:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=19027"},"modified":"2013-01-29T10:07:15","modified_gmt":"2013-01-29T15:07:15","slug":"imperial-state-electric-pop-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/imperial-state-electric-pop-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Imperial State Electric | Pop War<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Trevor Portz<\/span>
\nStaff Writer —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"It would seem obvious to say that Nicke Andersson is one of the most versatile and talented musicians of the modern rock and metal world. From death metal (Entombed, Death Breath), to hard rock (the Hellacopters), to noisy punk (Supershit 666), to Detroit soul (the Solution), there doesn\u2019t seem to be a genre he hasn\u2019t mastered. Throw in the fact that he\u2019s capable of delivering everything from the blast beat to the soulful guitar solo, and it\u2019s likely even Dave Grohl might get a bit envious. Well, now he\u2019s ready to deliver the sophomore effort from his most recent venture\u2014the \u201870s-heavy Imperial State Electric\u2014and while it may not be as genre-defining as some of his other works, it\u2019s also hard to imagine many other albums this year will live up to its standard.<\/p>\n

Following in the footprints of the self-titled ISE album (and a number of sold-out 7\u201d singles), Pop War<\/em> acts as a rock and roll time machine, taking listeners back to a time when Cheap Trick and Kiss were at their absolute peaks. Drawing heavily from both of these bands (and many others), Pop War delivers 10 pop-heavy rock songs that you\u2019ll swear were unearthed from the vaults of Electric Lady Studios. In fact, this album feels very much like the long-lost secret collaboration between Rick Nielsen, Paul Stanley and Bob Ezrin<\/p>\n

The riffs on Pop War<\/em> are simple and effective, the solos are gut-wrenchingly honest, and the melodies are written to be sung by stadiums full of people. But what\u2019s even better is that nothing feels forced. Many bands attempting to re-live genres of the past try too hard, and the result is generally a subpar facsimile. This album feels very natural; it was written and performed by people shaped and raised on the sounds of the 70s.<\/p>\n

While the influences are obvious, the tracks are still fresh, and none sound recycled. Whether reminiscent of Paul Stanley\u2019s solo album (\u201cSheltered in the Sand\u201d), pre-solo Alice Cooper (\u201cWaltz for Vincent\u201d), or the Beatles (\u201cCan\u2019t Seem to Shake it Off My Mind\u201d with it\u2019s \u201cDay Tripper\u201d-like intro), each track stands on its own as a fitting tribute to one of the greatest decades of rock and roll.<\/p>\n

For all of its great points, the album also follows the \u201870s standard of being very short. Like, Dressed to Kill<\/em> short. So if a big minus to be found, it would be that everything is over so quickly. Tagging on a couple of the aforementioned 7\u201d-only single tracks might have been cool. But hey, always leave fans wanting more. <\/p>\n

Oh, and the cover is one of the coolest and funniest in a while. Is there anything more rock and roll than Nicke Andersson is crazy regalia on a horse? No, there is not.<\/p>\n

So if you like your rock and roll tailor made for \u201870s AM radio, Pop War<\/em> should make you very happy. Just don\u2019t be surprised if you find it hard to believe it\u2019s not actually 33+ years old. Yes, that\u2019s a good thing.<\/p>\n

Genre: \tRock<\/p>\n

Band:
\nNicke Andersson (v,g)
\nDolf de Borst (b)
\nTobias Egge (g)
\nThomas Eriksson (d)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tUh Huh
\n2.\tNarrow Line
\n3.\tCan\u2019t Seem to Shake It Off My Mind
\n4.\tBack On Main
\n5.\tWaltz for Vincent
\n6.\tSheltered in the Sand
\n7.\tEmpty Hands
\n8.\tMonarchy Madness
\n9.\tDeride and Conquer
\n10.\tEnough to Break Our Hearts<\/p>\n

Label: Psychout<\/p>\n

Website: imperialstateelectric.se<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9.7\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Trevor Portz Staff Writer — It would seem obvious to say that Nicke Andersson is one of the most versatile and talented musicians of the modern rock and metal world. From death metal (Entombed, […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[2317,2387],"class_list":{"0":"post-19027","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-cd-review","8":"tag-rock"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19027\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}