There has always been something about glam rock band Semi Precious Weapons that has peaked my interest. It could be that when the group was Lady Gaga's opening act for her Monster Ball Tour, they torn the house down. It could be that their unique album, You Love You, is pretty damn fun and catchy. Or it could be that during SXSW in Austin last year, lead singer Justin personally pulled me into a 21+ venue and gave me a front stage view of a performance that literally shook the club the entire time. The group is what modern day rock n roll should look and sound like. I have been jamming out to their hits such as "Magnetic Baby" and "Sticky With Champagne" for the past year, patiently awaiting new material and a full album to go along with. Well today, February 18, my wait is officially over. Semi Precious Weapons released their long awaited new single, "Aviation High", for free through SoundCloud. The song is the lead single off their upcoming "third", or second, full length studio album.
Immediately I noticed a change in the band's tone and sound this time around. Instead of a loud, fierce, chaotic, rock/pop experiment similar to "Put A Diamond In It", Semi Precious Weapons seemed to have gone somewhat soft... in a good way. I quickly made comparisons to tracks from Tokio Hotel and the vibe is familiar to "Leave Your Pretty To Me", a song found on SPW's You Love You. The song opens with Justin singing about what he likes exactly about the person the track is directed towards. Then... the hook and chorus of "we're alive, alive" kick in and the whole thing becomes this sort of powerful anthem of encouragement that would surely pick up anyone having a rough time and make them shout and fist pump to the heavens.
The highlight of the new single, besides the impressive, simple production and instrumentals, is Justin's vocal performance. We have heard him get loud and crazy before, but we have yet to hear him command the stage with just his vocals. This is his time to shine and he absolutely nails it. There is something sexy about the slow delivery leading up to the chanting chorus, everything works. The new song surprised me in every way. I was not expecting the track to turn out to be a mid-tempo, full fledged rock creation, but I'm glad that is how it turned out. It may not be as attention getting as some of the band's past releases, but it surely focuses on talent instead of flash and glitter. They are getting serious with their work and I can stand behind the new sound and image they are creating.
Semi Precious Weapons' next album will be released sometime in 2013. The new single, "Aviation High", is available for free download for the next few day, then available on iTunes soon after. What do you think of the new single? Yay or nay? Listen below.
B+
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