ZapTown

Ben Davis And The Jetts
Charge It Up
Lovitt
Rating: 4 out of 5

Link: http://www.myspace.com/bendavisrock

Even though the song titles screams out with a fanfare love for the ‘80s (“I Want U To Want 2,” a take from Cheap Trick, “Robocoppin’” and “Rawls Around The Fountain” — someone found their Smith’s Self-Titled album), Ben Davis’ music is not buried in the past nor is it propelled into the future. What Charge It Up is left with is a really good hyperactive dance and rock album that blends moveable rhythms with post punk twitching and indie postering.

Davis is no rookie to the scene, and he’s been around to experience many things. And that is why Charge It Up universally feels great. It’s an album anyone can take a slice of whether you listen to one word of the lyrics or intently soak it in. You feel an equal amount of energy and melancholic spirit, and what he does preserve is the rebellious, out of control chaos that we found in late ‘70s rock with people like Costello and early U2.

Davis sums it up best in the opening title track in his best Pilot To Gunner guitar convulsing: “And do you want to cross that line? Now you’re gonna cross it with me.” He’s giving us the decision, yet quickly giving us no choice but to take his proverbial hand and let him guide us into a wild ride of human emotions.

Not so much reactionary, Ben Davis has great perspective. When listening to “Machu Piccu,” we feel his sense of mortality as “The Aspirin Hotel” sways with a humanistic sense of oneself. And that is what you will find an appreciation for accentuated by “Rawls Around The Fountain” being one of the most sincere endings to an album I have heard in decades.

Dig it sitting down or giving your feet a workout, Charge It Up is worth the price of a good listening experience.

 

 Ben Davis - Machu Piccu (from the album "Charge It Up") [4:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download