Black Paisley has been cranking out classic-esque hard rock for a while now. This new album is short (only eight songs) and totally sweet. If you have an affection for 80s melodic heaviness, Black Paisley is one of the best purveyors around.

Black Paisley Rambler (Spinnup-Universal)

Of course, the band is Swedish. You can tell by the impeccable Californian accent (ever notice how Swedish NHL players almost all sound like surfers?). The riffage is straight along the Thin Lizzy-Cheap Trick-Bad Company-Whitesnake axis (perhaps a wobbly axis, but an axis nonetheless), and these songs are wonderfully assembled.

If this was 1986, Black Paisley would be superstars. But that's when rock was king. Now it's a sideshow, but that doesn't mean it's not a good time to rock. These are stone cold brilliant songs. Almost perfect, really.

If there's an empty spot in your heart yearning for a big slab of red-blooded rock, Black Paisley should be on your plate. If you look back on your youth (I have no illusion that teenagers will have any understanding of the appeal of this stuff) and shake your head in disbelief, well, just move on. The rest of us will find that special receiver that goes to 11.

Jon Worley