Wheels on Fire

Cherry Bomb [7-inch] (2010)

Brian Shultz

Wheels on Fire stock their Cherry Bomb EP with a surfy collision between '60s rock and roll and '77 power-pop, and it's an occasionally delightful romp.

"Black Wave" carries a relaxed pacing, yet the vocals and guitars feel snappy, all deriving from those abovementioned styles but doling them out with panache. The comparatively muscly "Broken Up" feels considerably fuller and the band roll through it with even more confidence and throwback fuzz/reverb. Of all the songs, the title track actually feels a little lethargic, but they keep the upbeat vibe, bringing it through the close with the more minimal "Go Give Yer Love Away", which hearkens back to the opener's thinner, strummed feel.

Is it weird calling this stuff cute? It sort of is, but it's also played and written tightly, and delivered with swank.

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Black Wave