MUSIC REVIEW OF THE DAY: THE LAZYS - TROPICAL HAZARDS

It remains mysterious to me why a heritage band such as, say, AC/DC remains hugely popular with original fans, concert-goers who have never owned one of their records, and entire new generations not born during the group's heyday, despite now being down to one original member (Angus). Yet new rock bands are having a desperate time trying to build any kind of interest and staying power, like its Dixieland or ballroom dancing or something else from a bygone era. I guess its just the whole spectacle of the thing, the cultural iconic moment it represents, and it doesn't matter who's up there as long as there's a guy in short pants and another one screeching "Highway to Hell" and some big lights and fireworks and like-minded souls numbering in the tens of thousands.

Anyway, if it's the music you actually enjoy, here's a band built on the AC/DC sound, from Sydney, Australia, natch. They'd been building and recording in their own country for a decade before a unique twist brought them to Canada. Playing in front of industry types at Canadian Music Week, they impressed the right folks fast, and in short order ended up working with Ian D'Sa of Billy Talent, and eventually moving here, so they're basically Canadian now.

The Lazys actually have more going on than the one-dimensional hard-pounding sound of their Australian forebearers, with the ability to throw in a ballad or two on the new album, and some more imaginative ways to get to the heavy choruses on the rockers. But when they strut their stuff, well, these are probably the hit songs Angus Young (and Def Leppard and Axl Rose and lots of others) wish they were still able to write. Nothing But Trouble is the first single, all churning energy, while Little Miss Crazy does the same trick as well. Half Mast Blues is an example of that rare genre, pirate rock ("Shiver me timbers/drink a barrel of rum"). But Young Modern Lightning is where the group stretches, kind of a power ballad with something decent to say. And One's Too Many is a hard rocker, but with more punk roots than metal. So, you know, rock 'n' roll still lives.