On the Move

It's something of a rock cliché: a band breaks up, with one or more members proclaiming "we will never get back together." But then time heals whatever wounds were there, and a decade or two later, the band releases a new album. A group from the 80s that I love just completed this journey -- The Cars recently released a new album entitled Move Like This.

Imagine that The Cars had somehow recorded another album in the mid-80s, then for whatever reason put it in a time capsule marked "do not open until 2011." That's what this album sounds like, a blast from 25 years past. And that's exactly what I was hoping for. Their sound has evolved in a few very small ways, in much the way a band would naturally change between albums made just a couple years apart. Fundamentally, though, this is the sound I've always loved.

Every track manages to skate this perfect line between familiarity and freshness. A certain keyboard run, guitar riff, or drum beat will come on for a few bars and I'll think "that reminds me of 'You Might Think'" or 'Just What I Needed' or 'Bye Bye Love.' But never long enough for me to think of any one song as a clone of an earlier tune.

Not that many people listen to a whole album in order anymore, but for what it's worth, this one is very well sequenced. The best two tracks on it are the first two, "Blue Tip" and "Too Late." The former is a vintage New Wave dance track, the latter lightly evokes the feeling of their famous song "Magic."

Technically, this is not a complete reunion of The Cars, as bassist Benjamin Orr died of cancer in 2000. (He also took lead vocals on some of the group's hits, like "Drive" and "Moving in Stereo.") But it feels to me like the band tried to remain conscious of what he brought to the mix. In fact, one of the two band members who split bass duties this time out claims to have played his parts of a bass that was used by Orr himself.

I wouldn't call this the best Cars album, but if you've ever liked any of their music, I can't imagine you wouldn't like this. I'd grade it an A-.