Wig Wam Glam: It’s The Airport 77’s

2021’s Rotation was chock full o’ killer guitar riffs, sing along choruses and radio ready singles. With We Realize You Have A Choice, the guys spread their wings and cover a lot more ground including glam, 80’s new wave, indie rock. Once again, the hooks are abundant, the lyrics clever and the performances convincing.

“One Good Thing About Summer” brings me right back to the days of Martha & The Muffins, The Cars and The Vapours. Close your eyes and it’s 1980 all over again. The bass line of “Birthday Girl” makes this song an instant classic. The lyrics are fun – and in no way cliché . And the guitar solo…generally, I don’t care for guitar solos of any kind. But this one is killer.

Airport 77’s Wheel of Talent

If you were present for the Fleshtones’ “Wheel of Talent” tour, then you’ll remember how the band determined their set list – by spinning a wheel. Airport 77’s seem to have taken on a similar methodology based on genre. If it’s straight ahead rock ‘n’ roll ya dig, “Losers Win” is your panacea.  My personal favorite is “The Illustrated Book of Cupid”. Part The Sweet and Marc Bolan, it’s a glam masterpiece right down to the hand claps and arena rock guitar solo.  Even the bluesy “Since the Circus Left Town” hits all the right notes for me.

We Realize You Have a Choice is a more than worthy follow up to Rotation – the songs are catchy and the lyrics smart. Outstanding performance by guitarist Andy Sullivan, bassist Chuck Dolan and drummer John Kelly make these compositions sparkle even more than they might otherwise. And make no mistake about it. The songwriting is outstanding.

Another Fine JEM Release

Airport 77’s We Realize You Have a Choice was just released a couple of days ago. Get your copy of it as the band’s Bandcamp page or at the JEM records site. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.