Can best be described as Good Time music.
The Boogiemen Inc is a Norwegian rock band dealing in what can best be described as Good Time music. The roots are rockabilly, R&B, country and boogie, creating a very organic sound. ´Rocket Surgery´ is the band´s eighth recording since its formation in 1993. The experience shows and this is a very tight four piece band comprising Ola Kroken on vocals and rhythm guitar, Roger Wuttudal on lead guitar, Jon Slørdal on bass and Inge Hanshus on drum duties.
The songs on the album are very consistent – strong on playing but not that much variety. This is a very straightforward album and if you get into its groove it is very infectious. Standout tracks include ´Pick Up Your Trash´ which has got a nice combination of honky tonk piano and slide guitar and a very Rolling Stones-esque vocal delivery. Following this is an equally strong but different song, ´Nobody Home´, which is a bit slower with more of a jangling guitar sound but a very complete commercial song.
Further down the album, ´Moving On Down´ grabs attention with a catchy verse punctuated by some great resonating guitar chords before picking up with a very memorable guitar. The middle section changes the song´s direction into a rock ´n´ roll guitar solo which then picks up into the closing chorus.
In fact, all songs on the album have strong melodies and there are no fillers included; the consistency of the songs and playing and the overall upbeat vibe suggests The Boogiemen Inc would be a good band to see live. ´Snake Oil´ and the title track would go down very well. The latter being in the same envelope as ELO´s ´Roll Over Beethoven´; and of course there is an obligatory Chuck Berry sounding guitar solo. A great closer for the album.
´The Rocket Surgery´ is a good example of its genre and is hard to fault. Vocals are sufficiently snarly, there is a good beat throughout and the guitar solos are crunchy and soaring. If this sounds like your sort of thing, give The Boogiemen Inc a try.
Rob McKenzie
Subscribe to this comment's feed
