aaamusic | On 27, Sep 2010

The general impression is that Think Ringo is a very good album, with a pair of striking singles deserving a heavy rotation on radios and tv channels, and even if Showstar are Belgian, they absorbed all the best British pop rock, from The Beatles to The Fratellis, inside their music.
The album can be split in two parts, the first contains the best tunes in my opinion, apart from My name is John, a stadium anthem belonging to the second one.
The opening track, Residents of the Lost Club, is perfect, introducing the listeners to a wonderful journey into Showstar music. This tune pays tribute to David Bowie and to all garage rock revival scene, then the following tunes are a mix of pop, rock, punk, well played and undoubtedly involving.
(Love) seems a tender Beatles-esque ballad, but lyrics are caustic and the refrain is perfect to be sung along live, the guitar is remarkable, sounding like a crazy siren, it could be a perfect single.
On the Telly is introduced by an amazing guitar lick that support the whole song giving it an obsessive rhythm, like the recurrent question “What’s on the telly?”.
Gold Mine dues something to Coldplay for its guitar riff and the airy refrain, but for the rest is a throbbing pop song backed on irresistible repeated choirs.
Building a house is a very nice song, leading and backing vocals are delightfully harmonized and have a sort of 60s echo, the guitar sound is very clear and the ensemble is enriched by ringing bells.
My name is John is hypnotizing, the same chord obsessively repeated together with the verse “My name is John”, I love it because it’s a bit darker and I think that the live version will kick ass.
Finger Generation is a classic album filler, while Your Eighties goes from a classic pop to a punk moment reminding The Clash.
The last and eponymous track is a delirium of a rock tapestry confused by voices overlapping each other, it’s a sort of dream ending, very insane and acid.
As I said before this album is really good but I think Showstar must find the right balance between the “already heard” and new elements. In this case I’ve already heard a lot of things inside their songs and even if they can be pointed out like tributes, it could be easily mistaken as a lack of ideas.
Anyway I think I’ll listen to Think Ringo for a long while.

Author: Roberta Capuano