Posted by Richard Rossi on Feb 9, 2021 in Music, News, Powerpop |

Airport 77s – Rotation

Airport 77s new album, Rotation, will take you back to pop radio’s heyday when big voices – and even bigger guitars – dominated the airwaves and powerpop found it’s way onto commercial radio playlists. Airport 77’s do the retro pop thing as good as anyone.

The album opens up with “Christine’s Coming Over”, an up tempo number that references both Ralph Steadman and Roxy Music. Immediately I knew I was in the right place.

Airport 77s’ sound is influenced by power pop bands of the 70’s such as Cheap Trick or Raspberries as well as (to a lesser extent) glam bands like The Sweet. The band can pull this off because all three – Andy Sullivan, Chuck Dolan and John Kelly – can really sing. Listen to “Wild Love” and you’ll know what I mean. You may even hear a little of The Clash in “Shannon Speaks”.

I really enjoy music with a humorous twist and to that end, Airport 77s deliver with “Bad Mom!”. The shout along chorus will grab you and like all great comedy, there’s a fundamental truth at it’s core. It’s one of my favorite tracks of the year so far.

The band covers Bram Tchaikovsky’s “Girl of My Dreams” too and while it isn’t one of the standout tracks on Rotation, it attests to the band’s exquisite taste in music.