Ocean Colour Scene's seventh album,
Hyperactive Workout for the Flying Squad, bears a title that's far busier and more unpredictable than the music contained within the 13 songs. Like every record they've recorded since their trad rock makeover on their second album, 1996's
Moseley Shoals,
Hyperactive is a tasteful, well-crafted, earnest collection of classicist rock. A fuzzy bass synthesizer might rear its ugly head on "God's World" and "Move Things Over" may have a vaguely jazzy vibe, but even those tentative makeovers don't change
OCS's insistent straight-ahead spin on '70s classic rockers like
Traffic and
Humble Pie. While they offer few surprises on
Hyperactive, they also offer no embarassments, and it's likely that any fan still faithfully buying records nearly a decade after
Moseley Shoals will enjoy this record, but those who drifted away sometime after 1997's Marchin' Already won't find much reason to come back to the fold. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine