Zoomer

In the late '70s and early '80s, a new wave of southern rockers like the Cramps and Tav Falco's Panther Burns created a revved-up, gloriously sleazy version of '50s rockabilly. Similarly, Louisiana-based singer/songwriter Zoomer appeared in the late '90s offering a gloss on the glammy end of '70s hard rock, albeit with a much less over the top presentation. Echoes of Mott the Hoople, Sally Can't Dance-era Lou Reed, Cheap Trick, the Babys, and others dot Zoomer's second album. The guitar riffs are catchy and Zoomer's vocals have the right edge of insouciance, but the songs are a widely variable lot, ranging from inconsequential fluff like "Tit for Tat" to much better fluff like the seething "It's Over (Get It to Go)" and the charming salute to Zoomer's drummer "The Ballad of Max Trash." Best of the lot is the opening "I Drink I Think Too Much" and its album-ending doppelgänger, which recall both the Reverend Horton Heat's punk-tinged rockabilly and the moody strut of a vintage Reed rocker. ~ Stewart Mason, Rovi