Kurt Baker Combo “In Orbit”

We really loved Kurt Baker’s last release “Play It Cool”, so we were delighted to hear that he had a new album coming out. Of course, it brings up one question… has he managed to keep up the quality of his power poppin!

The moment “Upside Down” kicks in, you know you’re in for a treat. It’s instantly catchy and designed to get stuck in your head immediately after the first listen. There’s an almost classic rock feel to “Baby’s Gone Bad” and “Count On Me”. Kurt manages to keep the songs sounding classy but there is also an added smudge of lipstick which means they could easily have been glammy hits in years gone by. Different, but equally good, is the more pure rock n roll of “Rusty Nail” and the Beatles esque “Ugly Way To Be”.

Songs like “All For You” and “Jerkin’ Back N Forth” are just huge songs. They’re built on massive melodies and designed to be played out very loud. You won’t find a better pop/rock record than “Modern Day Rock N Roll Girl” on many albums these days. Indeed, to match the power pop of “Do It For You” you’ll probably need to dig out some classic Cheap Trick albums.

If it weren’t for the fact that this was released in 2016, we’d already be putting this, even at this early stage, as a candidate for one of our records of 2017. It really is a brilliant mix of pop, rock and even glam, it’s a combination which is impossible to resist.