Shine on

Shine On not only fills a void for hungry rock fans but sets the bar for what today's rock bands can aspire to be. Jet flawlessly brings together classic rock influences with a modern rock edge.

On their second full-length recording, Australian retro-rockers Jet show they've got more tricks up their sleeve (they can, like, write songs and stuff!)--not to mention a bigger and better record collection--than most of their garage rock peers. Shine On displays swaggering but intelligent boogie rock à la Humble Pie, an ability to tear the roof off like their countrymen AC/DC, and Americana-thieving swagger rock that brings to mind the Rolling Stones. They do this rather unpretentiously; they are not pretending that anything they're doing is revolutionary or "new" in the slightest. The song titles themselves all have a ring of deja vu to them: "Bring It on Back," "Shine On, "Rip It Up," "Stand Up." Heard it all before? You bet. The thing is, every once in a while a rock band plugs into the Platonic ideal of rock & roll and actually gets it all totally right. Jet does this, and it makes them sound almost as original and exciting as the people they're stealing from. --Mike McGonigal