Julian Angel’s BEAUTIFUL BEAST – California Suntan
Label: G.T.O. Entertainment
Released: September 2012
Review by Shane Pinnegar
8.5/10
JULIAN ANGEL isn’t going to let something as silly as being born twenty years too late get in the way of living his Sunset Strip hair metal dreams – no way! Here’s a man who will just go out and make it happen all over again.
California Suntan is the second album for Angel under his BEAUTIFUL BEAST moniker, and it shreds and pulsates with a sexy sense of Eighties fun from start to finish.
Celebrating all that was great about the music of the era – and not afraid to make fun of the overblown, clichés associated with it – California Suntan is a good time ride full of hot chicks, sports cars, dancing little sisters, rock schools and loads and loads of sex, just like it was 1987 all over again.
Angel may be subtly poking fun at the genre, but he never disrespects it or descends into pure comedic territory – he keeps it fun and entertaining, much like it was in the late Eighties. More importantly, Angel can not only play the arse out of his axe, but he has a knack for writing killer hooks and cool songs are wall to wall here.
Covering vocals, guitars, bass and keyboards may be a bit much for some, but not Julian Angel – he enlists Jesse Curse to handle drum duties and percussion, but apart from that he is a virtual one-man-band.
Lyrically it’s not all big dumb fun wall to wall – Something In The Air addresses Angel’s father’s passing last year, and Fair Weather Friend is self-explanatory.
Closing out the album is another catchy anthem in Gimme Just One Night, billed as a “Special Japanese/US/European/Asian/African/Latin American/Arab/Down Under bonus track – yes, Julian Angel has a cheeky sense of humour and he isn’t afraid to use it!
One listen is all you’ll need to have the choruses of party rock anthems Cry Cry Cry, Addiction To The Friction, Friday To Sunday and the super-powered ballads Fair Weather Friend and Something In The Air swirling around your head when you least expect it.
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Category: CD Reviews