Album Review: Airbourne – Boneshaker (Spinefarm Records)

Airbourne have carved out a nice career out of their brand of Aussie, beer-swilling rock and roll. Not pretending to be anything but a throwback to the glory days of AC/DC, Rose Tattoo and more…they’ve had success with 4 albums so far.

Boneshaker, their 5th studio album looks to continue the trend even if the formula is evidently stale.

Be under no pretensions, Boneshaker is every bit an Airbourne album. They’ve never looked to reinvent the wheel and the 10 tracks here certainly don’t challenge. That’s not a negative, it’s exactly what an Airbourne fan expects and they almost always deliver. However, the lack of innovation has always been more forgivable as the band would stack the feel-good head-bangers up high. That’s not the case with Boneshaker though.

Stale formula aside, so much of this album is just downright boring and far worse…lacking in energy. That’s something no-one should be able to say about Airbourne but the likes of This Is Our City, Sex to Go and Weapon of War are dour offerings.

Of course, the Aussie fellas still manage to stack the album with plenty of hard rocking riffs, filthy vocal snark and enough solos to bash a beer can over your head with. No-one can fault Airbourne for delivering on the rock. The issue is just how uninteresting or exciting it all is. So much so that even long-term fans will probably find themselves a bit bored with this.

There are the odd rays of light though. Backseat Boogie is the catchiest track of the bunch as Airbourne ape their heroes and peers, AC/DC perfectly. Then She Gives Me Hell also proves to be a catchy one too as it brings the groove.

Airbourne’s past, present and future can be best summed up by the final track, Rock ‘n’ Roll for Life. This is them, take ‘em or leave ‘em, they’ll still be rocking all night long for the rest of their lives. Even if no-one but a hardcore few care anymore.

Airbourne – Boneshaker Full Track Listing:

1. Boneshaker
2. Burnout the Nitro
3. This Is Our City
4. Sex to Go
5. Backseat Boogie
6. Blood in the Water
7. She Gives Me Hell
8. Switchblade Angel
9. Weapon of War
10. Rock ‘n’ Roll for Life