CD Review: Trixter – Human Era

CD Review: Trixter – Human Era
Frontiers Music
All Access Rating: A-

Trixter - Human Era 2015

Don't tell Trixter they're hopelessly stuck in the '80s. To anyone who says time has passed them by, singer/guitarist Peter Loran would like a word.

In the title track to the pop-metal merrymakers' utterly infectious new Frontiers Music release Human Era, Loren, with complete conviction, sings, "Here we are now, not dated/A little torn and not so jaded." That last word should be stricken from Trixter's vocabulary.

Always optimistic and upbeat, with a penchant for making rousing, feel-good rock anthems and a healthy respect for the holy trinity of drums, bass and guitars, the Jersey boys who were big in the late '80s fly high on Human Era, slapping a new coat of sonic paint on an old formula, this bright, energetic follow-up to their 2012 reunion album New Audio Machine coming off as unexpectedly fresh, fun and exciting. Just don't get too caught up in lyrics that are rife with recycled themes and worn-out cliches.

Only the most miserable, joyless bastard on the planet could find fault with the charming and irresistible "Not Like All The Rest" and its engaging hooks, and the brilliant, affecting melodies and galvanizing choruses just gush from "Every Second Counts," "Good Times," and that aforementioned title track. Jon Bon Jovi wishes he had a song like any one of those three still in him, and the rushing excitement and soaring vocal harmonies of "Midnight in Your Eyes" could make Def Leppard question its continued existence. More frenetic and lively, "Crash That Party," "Rocking To The Edge of The Night" and "For You" testify to Trixter's surprisingly youthful vitality, as Loren, lead guitarist Steve Brown, bassist P.J. Farley and drummer Mark "Gus" Scott – whose playing has never been sharper as a unit – usher in the Human Era.
– Peter Lindblad