Wig Wam – Non Stop Rock ‘N Roll

3,12 / 5
When the fall of glam metal happened in the early-90s many of the bands who ended up weathering the storm and are still going strong today have obviously changed their image in order to fit into today’s standards. Even though a lot of the groups still incorporate part of the glam look into their stage performance there are not that many who embrace all the qualities the scene itself had to offer once it exploded on to MTV in the early ‘80s. For Norway’s Wig Wam they have intended to bring glam metal back to masses not only through their musicianship but from the flamboyant outfits they wear as well. If any mainstream publicist were to come across a photo of these guys they would probably end up erupting into laughing and ask someone if Wig Wam were a legit rock ‘n’ roll band or if they were trying to be a tribute to some bad fashion choices. Regardless of the look these guys are going for their unique blend of melodic hard rock has taken the world by storm. More specifically Wig Wam broke into the music industry though their involvement in the 2005 Eurovision Song contest. It was through their song In My Dreams where hard rock purists began to focus on the wide amount of talent coming in what would become the second wave of glam metal. After Eurovision Wig Wam would continue to build a loyal following through a sophomore effort appropriately titled Wig Wamania. In terms of delivering a straight forward melodic approach Wig Wam learned from some of the best drawing a wide array of influences from KISS, Queen, Bon Jovi, and Poison so as the band has grown and matured they’ve put out an impressive catalogue of party rock anthems. For their third studio effort Wig Wam have joined forces with a label that many consider the premier source for this particular genre nowadays – Frontiers Records and it’s definitely a partnership that is mutually beneficial for all parties involved as now Wig Wam is able to expand into various markets where their previous albums weren’t available. When first giving Non Stop Rock ‘N Roll a spin it’s quite obvious that the band has gone through some changes as even though they are still churning out catchy material there is something missing from the equation compared to Wig Wam’s previous outings. I can’t exactly pinpoint where but as a whole the results are a little hit and miss and for a majority of the listens I put into this release I began to wonder if there is a such a thing as a band trying deliberately to sound too glam? No matter how much time I devoted into trying to get behind Non Stop Rock N’ Roll there simply wasn’t the right mixture, in my opinion, and I’m not going to deliberately point fingers as to who is to blame. This is a new era for Wig Wam and once they signed with Frontiers they were given an incredible opportunity yet in hindsight I think everyone tried a little too hard to polish many of the production elements and the end result doesn’t quite live up to what a group the likes of this has done in the last four or five years. There is still some very energetic songwriting to be found through gems like Walls Come Down, Man In The Moon, and All You Wanted but as for the engine powering Wig Wam it ends up spitting and sputtering and in the long run it’s not good for the machine itself so hopefully if this affiliation between the band and Frontiers continues forward they’ll be able to restructure things a little bit differently and build a powerful rock album from the ground up.

The Good
After what seems like an eternity Wig Wam has returned. From the first moment I heard In My Dreams I knew this band had something going for them and I eagerly followed them when they released Wig Wamania. Non Stop Rock N’ Roll was pretty high up on my list of must listen albums of 2010 and it’s good to hear them again as they definitely one of elite groups leading the charge in the modern glam metal movement.

The Bad
I don’t want to call this album a melodic rock by the numbers type of release but unfortunately as a music critic and a music fan (and at times it’s really hard to be both) I’m not satisfied with this album as a whole. I don’t know if Frontiers went in and tried to add a much more glossy shine that Wig Wam has never really had before in their productions or if the band was trying to step things up performance wise there is just something drastically missing that would have brought Non Stop Rock N’ Roll to the next level.

Rockers – All You Wanted, Do Ya Wanna Taste It?, Walls Come Down

Ballads – Man In The Moon

Review by Jere, ShipwreckIsland Studios 05.02.2010
www.shipwreckislandstudios.com