A mindless, feel good, riffing album with big gonzoid chorus and a bucketful of fun.

You know, a common phrase used throughout the history of reviewing is “well they haven’t reinvented the wheel”. But let’s be honest, the wheel was such a significant and simple design, that it really does not need to be reinvented. Sure, we can design stronger, better looking wheels, but the basic concept is that it does what it was always supposed to do. German rockers Hollywood Burnouts have certainly not reinvented the musical wheel, but what they have done is had a lot of fun and enjoyment on their travels.

The band’s moniker, and musician’s names such as Nikki Sin, Vito Crash, Chrizzy Roxx and Mike Nazzty help nail their colours firmly to the mast; this is 80s LA glam/sleaze/hard rock melding the likes of Cinderella, Motley Crue and … Ivory Tower (remember them?), and while the music may be simple and clichéd, it is performed with such an exuberant joie de vivre and fun attitude that one can’t help but smile and sing along. Sure, the vocals of band leader Mike Nazzty can be tortuous at times, such as on the ballads ‘A Part of My Heart’ and ‘Remember Me’, as well as ‘Fake Baby’ where at times his voice is left bare with minimal musical backing; but for the most part the multi-tracked vocals and/or full musical backing overcome this short-coming. It’s also nice to see a female lead guitarist/backing singer in an otherwise all male band, adding a little something different.

And while the ballads may strain the hearing a little, Hollywood Burnouts sure know how to write a catchy riff – simply take one listen to opener ‘Hands of Rock’, ‘Tonight’, ‘Wild at Heart’, with it’s Cinderella ‘Gypsy Road’ vibe, or the wonderful ‘I Wanna Ride’, which if had been recorded by Gotthard would see fans proclaiming the second coming. Speaking of Gotthard, I got the Hollywood Burnouts album at the same time, and when you couldn’t really say this is a better album, I, for one, enjoyed ‘Excess All Areas’ much more. If you ever need a mindless, feel good, riffing album with big gonzoid chorus and a bucketful of fun, you could do far worse than Hollywood Burnouts.

Since the album was recorded, drummer Nikki and bassist Vito have left the band, but the core team of Mike and Chrizzy carry on with the flame burning bright. Next album should be really interesting.

Bruce Mee