Groovy grandad Billy Idol hasn’t burst out of his straitjacket too often since 2014’s comeback album and autobiography, but this four-track EP, following last year’s one The Roadside, is well-judged fun. It’s precision-tooled pop-rock, just slightly heavier than it needs to be.
Each compact, catchy track bursts with energy and a disarming awareness of exactly what a Billy Idol number should be – part cartoon, part rip-roaring raunch. With Steve Stevens co-writing and chugging out the dynamics, we get a thoroughly jumping jailbreak.
There’s solid songcraft too, as the titular fizzer makes every transition count, and Running From The Ghost discusses Idol’s demons with a wink rather than a wallow.
Rebel Like You is self-referential but witty and spry, while Miss Nobody has the singer deploying a distant cousin of rapping and even swaggers towards the disco like Kiss’s I Was Made For Lovin’ You is its wingman. More more more!
