The Radio Sun: Unstoppable

Unstoppable seems like the perfect title for the new album from Australian melodic rockers The Radio Sun, if for no other reason than the band simply refuses to slow down. It’s their fourth album in as many years, and even with the unusually steady output they’re still delivering high quality melodic rock. The band released this one on their own, but the quality level certainly doesn’t suffer as a result. Paul Laine is back to mix the album, and he contributes keyboards as well.

Unstoppable, like the previous albums from The Radio Sun, has three main strengths – the catchy melodies guitarist Steve Janevski serves up, Jason Old’s expressive vocals, and (and this may be my favorite thing about this band) the massive backing vocals. When those three elements come together, it’s melodic rock magic. It helps that the band seems to have an inexhaustible supply of songwriting. The material on Unstoppable captures the melodic rock glory days as well as some of the modern sounds in the genre. Nelson, Harem Scarem, Vega, even Rick Springfield all come to mind.

The whole album is one upbeat, feel-good melodic rock experience, but I really love the energy of the title track, the one-two punch of “You’ve Got the Touch” and “Heaven Tonight,” and the rocking “Set the Night on Fire.” There are no weak moments though. Literally every song on Unstoppable is a gem.

I wish I had gotten to this one before the New Year, because it would have been a strong contender for my Best of 2017 list. It’s not too late to spread the word about this album (and band) though. The Radio Sun is one of the best recent bands in melodic rock, and they deserve to be heard by any fan of catchy, radio-friendly melodic rock.