The Swindlers

Things don’t always work out how you planned. Given the copyright date on the back of this one (when the band originally intended to release this disc), that clearly seems to be the case here. Regardless of how long it took to issue, the Swindlers’ latest is a great. Filing this album under any genre but rock would be remiss, because while it’s clear that Cheyne Bamford and Shannon Saling — whose voice recalls a young Kim Wilde, only gutsier and more forceful — have a definite love of proto-punk, The Swindlers is filled with wonderfully, exuberant straight ahead hard rock. Prime cuts like “Gettin’ By,” “Sidelines” and “Run” are clear proof that you can still rock in America and not sound hopelessly dated.