After rebooting the entire band, Steve Adamyk doesn't miss a step on the 2019
Steve Adamyk Band album
Paradise. Plugging in bassist Johnny O of Uranium Comeback and drummer Pat Johnson of
the Acorn didn't change the high ratio of hooks, didn't lower the stuck-on-high energy levels, and made no alterations to the proven formula each of the previous
SAB albums so firmly established (and 2016's
Graceland tweaked a little). If anything, the band is a little tougher and tighter than the last incarnation as the wire-taut tracks like "In Death" and "No Help" make clear. Most of the record hits like a bomb cyclone, with the guitar slicing the air and the rhythm section powering through the storm as Adamyk belts the angst-packed lyrics. He gets help from former
SAB member Dave Williams on harmony vocals and the pair sound great together; their work on soaring tracks like "Something Vicious" is as good or better than any other vocals one might find on a garage punk album. Much like on
Graceland, Adamyk continues to introduce some poppier elements to the band's attack. There is some nice synth work that pops up here and there, the tempos take an occasional respite from breakneck, and some power pop creeps in on tracks like the snappy "Telephone," the summer-sweet "When I Was Gone," and the slow-paced bummer ballad with lush vocal harmonies "Waiting to Die Part 1." These songs show a way out for the band if they decide they've taken garage punk as far as they can; the melodic skills and light touch they employ could be expanded, and they could make more complicated and resonant music if they choose. Or they could keep cranking out heart-filled, hook-heavy, tough-as-rocks garage punk like this forever and it's likely no one will complain. ~ Tim Sendra