AMERICAN JETSET – Saloon Rock Whiskey Pop (2020) [hard to find first album] *only at 0dayrox*
After their brilliant debut ‘Live, Love, Die On Main’ and gigs with the likes of Tom Keifer of Cinderella, Jack Russell’s Great White, LA Guns, Slaughter, etc, AMERICAN JETSET released their first full album in 2020 titled “Saloon Rock Whiskey Pop“.
And then, just as the record was unveiled and shows were being lined up to support it, the world of music hit a brick wall due to the pandemic. Any chances of supporting ”Saloon Rock Whiskey Pop” on the road went right out the window.
So the band decided to retire / delete the album from all music retailers, I guess waiting the end of the quarantine to re-release it. But it really took a long time, and that never happened: ”Saloon Rock Whiskey Pop” is very hard to find now.
Truly a shame, as it is a mighty fine effort, expanding on their sound and incorporating new facets into their mix of classic hard rock, glam, no frills rock & roll.
The band spend late 2019 working on ”Saloon Rock Whiskey Pop”, and it finally hit the streets in late February 2020. The sonic journey begins with the whistle of a steam engine as four masked marauders gallop across a vista of tumbleweeds. These sounds set the mood as a familiar voice echoes in the distance offering up a “Welcome To Devil’s Canyon.”
First proper track “Walking Contradiction” immediately struts into the room and out of your speakers with a slinking, back-alley bass groove as the train robbers take their place onstage. I picture the band playing behind a fence in some wild, wild west roadhouse as the track’s namesake works the room in a cool, calculated way. “Walking Contradiction” is a romping, cautionary tale about that type of girl that’s better avoided.
A down n’ dirty chord-pattern and screaming guitar lick usher in “Gold & Nines”, which are accompanied by an infectious rhythm that’ll have you tapping your steering wheel to the beat in this radio ready ode-to that top shelf commodity in your life.
That’s what I love about this band’s music. It’s so kinetic, and “One More Time Around” is full of that same swagger and bounce. It opens to the sound of blotting guitar notes trickling from the fretboard before segueing into the heavy groove drives the song.
The tempo of “Getaway Car” takes things down just a notch. It’s a midpaced song and ultimately an anthem about new beginnings and escaping any situation that you might be battling in your life.
“This Ain’t Hollywood” speaks for itself, all over a catchy rhythm, a rumbling bass and cool vocals. The racing, opening riff of “1,000 Ghosts” immediately signals that the gloves are off and it’s on. This is Saloon Rock Whiskey Pop’s big gun that’ll just bludgeon you at their live show. It’s a beast of a song that chugs along mercilessly. The guitar sounds like a revving engine until singer Ian Kaine MacGregor pulls the trigger with the line “you won’t get away this time”.
American Jetset saved the best for last with the brilliant simplicity of “Never Be Goodbye. The acoustic sing-along is one of the album’s finest compositions that is told from the perspective of a new band on the road and the connections they’ve made with their fans. It features the gorgeous, glowing background vocals of Christina Oliviero before the band rides off into the sunset, vowing to return someday.
I was blown away by what I heard on this album. The 80s US era of hard rock is one of my favorites and AMERICAN JETSET had resurrected that sound in a way that I hadn’t heard in quite some time.
Highly Recommended
You’ve seen it first at 0dayrox
01 – Welcome to Devils Canyon
02 – Walking Contradiction
03 – Gold Nines
04 – One More Time Around
05 – Getaway Car
06 – This Ain’t Hollywood
07 – 1000 Ghosts
08 – Never Be Goodbye
Ian Kaine MacGregor – vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar
Lance Reeder – guitar, backing vocals
Kevin Harrington – bass, backing vocals
Jeff Bradford – drums, percussion, backing vocals
not available anymore