Okay, first things first: This is practically a new band. The boys have pretty much ditched the ska-like upbeats and gone for the glam rock and roll sound and image. Instead of a tongue-in-cheek attempt at glam rock, this is a "forget what anyone else thinks, this is us" serious rock 'n' roll effort. Therefore, it's more appropriate to compare this album to 80's rockers like Poison, Motley Crue, Dangerous Toys, Bullet Boys, and Faster Pussycat rather than Squad's first two albums, Fight The System and What I Believe. To their credit, vocalist Jeff Fortson has blended the right amount of 'tude and brutish guts to his delivery. The second track, "Rocking At The Apocalypse," features some Cramp-ish / Misfits / Deadlines style organs that help creep out the verses and contrast more with the anthemic chant-along choruses of "rockin' it, rockin' it, at the apocalypse / it's rock and roll at the end of the world." The guitars overall have a high-end bite that truly fits the style, and the drum beats are snappy and tight enough to help the band marry some of the punk energy that helped bands like The Ramones and Hanoi Rocks cross over into each other's audience.
Some songs, like "Renegade," break things down very simple, like an old Kiss song, but Fortson out-brats Paul Stanley with a more outspoken accent. "Restless Youth" slows down enough to clearly identify with the blues base that most hard rock is founded upon. I can imagine hearing this one on a seventies Alice Cooper or Sweet record. You can even hear a hint of Springsteen-ish piano in the background. Another tune that slows down a little is "Lost In The City," which even takes a country poke riff and mixes it with some 60's harmony pop rock. While a serious effort, one can't help but laugh during the slow talkover in "Rock 'n' Roll Bandit," where Fortson basically whispers, "with my gun by my side, I ride into the night," which turns into a gang vocal chant. The cowbells, which you hear in "Don't Look Back," show how serious this band is about its goals. Snotty brats devoted to the King, Squad Five-O succeeds in their perceived goals, thanks in part to producer Duane Baron (who's worked with Ozzy & Motley Crue). Fans of the band have something new to play, and me thinks they'll like it. The legitimate rockin' should make this something that true metal / hard rock fans enjoy.
Other coverage for this album
ReAL Magazine 2000Reviewed by Shawna T.Bombs away! Squad Five-O's new release Bombs Over Broadway is guaranteed to blow you away with a flashback to the eighties. Their new album sounds like a hair band clashing with retro punk. It's almost like someone put Poison, Rancid, Husker Du, Faster Pussycat, Crashdog, and the Clash into a wrestling rink. The quality and depth of this album is the most surprising thing I've heard since Alice…Bandoppler 2000Reviewed by Earl CampbellThe premise of reviving glam rock is enough to make any self-respecting member of a post-modern society cringe in chagrin (and in painful memory of their exuberance over cutting holes in jeans and going ape at Warrant concerts), but Squad Five-0 have always found a way to be the exception to the stereotype. Let's reflect. While ska and punk anthems were becoming more and more reviled, Squad was…Decapolis 2000Reviewed by Tom BastianThe first thing that came to my mind with this new Squad Five-O album is that it's a fun album. It's one you can put in and just have fun to. It rocks, you can sing along, and it's got plenty of attitude. As most of you already know Squad Five-O has gone from ska-punk to punk-ska and now to glam rock. Sure the band and some of their fans seem to be calling it rock n roll, but in reality it's glam…Decapolis 2000Reviewed by JamesPoison called. They said they wanted their setlist back. Granted, if you've seen Squad Five-O's live show in the last couple years, you know that "Bombs Over Broadway" stems from their innate tendency to re-establish the reign of "Eighties Hair Metal". Unfortunately, in a more broad and marketable sense, this album is hardly relevant. In my quest for an excuse to say, "hey! these boys are onto…Decapolis 2000Reviewed by ChrisIt's been a while since I'd heard the talk about how Christian music is just a bad rip-off of the mainstream music of the time. Squad not only seems to want this conversation started again, but they've done so by propelling themselves 15 years into the past. This record is a lot of BAD 80's glam rock sounding stuff, without any of the virtues of the genre. The production quality is not even up to…Decapolis 2000Reviewed by Luke HarlowFrom the opening of the first, and title track, "Bombs Over Broadway" to the final song "Don't Look Back," it is clear that this record is about one thing: rock and roll. If one thing is certain, this album does rock. If every classic glam rock song was taken, influenced by punk, and then condensed into an 11-song album, the result would be "Bombs Over Broadway." Nothing is too complex here, just…Art for the Ears 2000Reviewed by Marco PovervestGlam from the streets, that's perhaps the best description I can give this record. What you hear is raw rock 'n roll with a punky garage sound. And at the same time there's a glamrock twist to it. A song like Renegade has an Alice Cooper feel. The same goes for Restless Youth with its bluesy flavor. Some of the other songs are sleazier like the uptempo Lost Boys which is more in the punkrock…The Phantom Tollbooth 2000Reviewed by Michial Farmer1. I'll make no bones about it. I absolutely hated Squad Five-0's first two albums. I found their poorly produced mix of ska and punk and insipid lyrics very nearly unlistenable. 2. Glam metal appears to be coming back into fashion. More and more punk bands are declaring their style as "glam punk," and with VH1 dedicating their Behind the Music show to more and more hair metal bands, it appears…Similar sounding releases
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