The Blue Van- Man Up

ARTIST: The Blue Van

ALBUM: Man Up

LABEL: TVT Records

REVIEWER: Matthew J.

DATE: 2-11-10

Hailing from Denmark, The Blue Van are a modern alternative rock group with a garage-inspired sound straight out of the early 1970s. On their third album, they bring in hints of glam rock, and not the artsy side of things exemplified by Roxy Music and David Bowie. This is the fun, swaggering party music side of glam rock embodied by The Sweet, Gary Glitter, and Slade. Title track "Man Up" in particular has a floor-stomping, finger-snapping beat that immediately calls to mind Gary Glitter's "Rock and Roll, Part Two," and album opener "Be Home Soon" is infectious and slick, with falsetto harmonies on the chorus that practically beg you to sing along. "True" is softer and slighter, a bubbly pop number that's equal parts early David Bowie and The Beatles, with pianos and horns filling out the drums and guitars. There's also a definite hard rock influence on display here, with guitar riffs that seem to suggest that lead singer and guitarist Steffen Westmark has spent a lot of time listening to Led Zeppelin; "Stop Thinking of Yourself" is all stomping backbeat and chugging, overdriven chords, and final song "Put My Name in the Sand" is seemingly a direct homage to Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog," right down to the jagged blues motif. The problem with the album is that as often as not, instead of recalling Westmark and friends' musical idols, these songs just make you think of their similarly retro-influenced contemporaries. The hard rock numbers don't recall Led Zeppelin so much as the similarly-influenced Wolfmother, and the bouncy garage rock tracks are more likely to make you think of Jet or The Strokes than The Kinks or The Who. "I'm a Man" highlights the best and worst of what The Blue Van have to offer; as soon as an ill-chosen rap breakdown on the bridge is ready to make you give up on the band altogether, they redeem themselves with a joyously swaggering saxophone solo. They're not brilliant artists, nor are they particularly original, but even at their worst The Blue Van know how to have a good time, and really, when you get down to it, that's what rock 'n' roll is for, isn't it?

Check out the band online at www.thebluevan.com.