In Another World (2021)

Cheap Trick never stopped working, persevering through both good times and bad. The 2010s wound up as something of a latter-day renaissance for the group, as they found a familiar groove with the adoption of Rick Nielsen's son Daxx as their regular drummer in 2010. At the end of the decade, they released a flurry of albums all recorded with co-producer Julian Raymond. In Another World -- an album set for 2020 release but pushed back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic -- retains Raymond, along with the same basic feel ... Read More

Cheap Trick never stopped working, persevering through both good times and bad. The 2010s wound up as something of a latter-day renaissance for the group, as they found a familiar groove with the adoption of Rick Nielsen's son Daxx as their regular drummer in 2010. At the end of the decade, they released a flurry of albums all recorded with co-producer Julian Raymond. In Another World -- an album set for 2020 release but pushed back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic -- retains Raymond, along with the same basic feel instituted on 2016's Bang, Zoom, Crazy...Hello: a careful revival of all the tricks that made Cheap Trick's first four albums power pop classics. Most of the time this means the band bashes out riff-heavy rockers dipped in candied Beatlesque harmonies, but they also take the time to indulge in a little bit of psychedelia, not to mention the trippy "So It Goes," which hearkens back to "Mandocello." Rick Nielsen's melodies are sharp, and Robin Zander sounds vigorous -- he might not be mistaken for a young man in his twenties, but he hardly sounds as if he's pushing 70. The muscle and commitment of Nielsen and Zander help make In Another World sound like a classic Cheap Trick album. If In Another World doesn't quite feel like a classic Cheap Trick, blame that on the group's dogged adherence to their old blueprint; they follow it so closely that they don't allow room for adventure, mistake, or fashion. Maybe that means the album doesn't quite seem fresh, but it does hit its marks in a reliable, satisfying manner. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi Read Less