The 1981 Listening Post - The Sherbs - Defying Gravity

 The Sherbs - Defying Gravity

#372

1981 Housekeeping

The Sherbs

Defying Gravity

Genre: Arena 80s rock

3.25 out of 5

Highlights:

We Ride Tonight

I’m Alive

Ok, Sherbs. Let’s have another go. You were pretty pedestrian in your approach to 80s synth laden arena rock. How’s this one?

Well, Sherbs, here’s the deal: You will never be Styx. And we don’t really need another Styx. And you won’t be Loverboy, either, and we don’t need another one of those. 

And I can hear you trying, Sherbs. I can hear it on “Blood On My Hands”. With those synths and determined vocals…I want to believe in you, Sherbs. I want to pump my fist in Aussie glory but…I just can’t bring myself to do it. 

Damn, Sherbs. You feel like you should be great. Why aren’t you? You get close, as on “I’m Alive”, despite sounding desperately earnest. 

https://music.apple.com/us/album/defying-gravity/443368354

The 1980 Listening Post - The Sherbs - The Skill

 The Sherbs - The Skill

#404

October 1980

The Sherbs 

The Skill

3 out of 5

Highlights:

The Skill

Is it T. Rex? Is it Genesis? Nope. It’s The Sherbs! An Australian band I have zero knowledge of. 

So, I’ll just let this album wash over me and see if there’s anything I can recommend. 

1. "The Skill": Yes, front load with the single. A glam rocker with epic 80s synths that is a few years ahead of its time and also kind of sounds like they could tour with Chicago. ****
2. "Back to Zero” - Huey Lewis meets Genesis in a Synthpop haze of radio friendliness. ****
3. "Cindy is Waiting” - Australian Springsteen? More like Aussie Jim Steinman. Daryl Braithwait is no Marvin O’Day but he knows where the “ha!”s are. ***
4. “Crazy in the Night” - No, not KISS’s “Crazy Nights” (although I do enjoy that song). Nope. It’s ballad time. And, honestly, it’s almost as though Jack Black was sent back in time to record this. **
5. “I’ll Be Faster” - You’ll be boring. You’ll be a shitty Eddie Money song. **
6. “Never Surrender” - This 80s power synth sound is gonna be all over your radio in a few years. And Loverboy spilled it all over themselves. ***1/2
7. “No Turning Back” - This is paint by numbers 80s rock. **1/2
8. “Love You to Death” - A perfectly fine middle of the album rock track. Full and fulsome. ***1/2
9. “Into the Heat” - A mid-tempo Montrose-esque rocker completely overshadowed by it’s keyboard obsession. **
10. “I’m Ok” - Wait. Are they New Wave now? **
11. "Juliet and Me" - I bet this is a winner in concert. Fast paced, room for plenty of solos. ***
12. “Parallel Bars” - I’ve run out of simile. It sounds like every other band that I’ve mentioned above. ***

 https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-skill/677229953