There are some albums that radiate a huge smile; you can tell everyone involved is having a blast. And that’s the overriding feeling Radio On! generates. Lee Aaron and her band throw themselves wholeheartedly into every track.
It begins with the flamboyantly guitar-driven, mid-paced Vampin’, before Soul Breaker sashays down the Pat Benatar route, as lyrically it has a woman in emotional command. You’d feel sure Mama Don’t Remember must be a cover of a 70s Suzi Quatro classic, but its swagger is all original.
The title track highlights the exuberance of turning up the radio and carousing down the highway. Devil’s Gold has a slow-burning sensuality. Had Me At Hello uncorks the sleaze, which slithers over a slightly funky rhythm.
Aaron herself is in splendid voice, and her musical relationship with guitarist Sean Kelly is what really drives the album along. Kelly knows when to hit the virtuoso button, and when to hold back, which helps to make this a consistently buoyant melodic rock album.
