The thought of yet another 80'ies band making a comeback is quite scary these days - most of them seem to have forgotten what they were all about. That is not the case with Sha-Boom, a swedish band who were really big in Sweden during the late eighties. Their music used to be rather fun, upbeat pop rock with extremely catchy choruses, and here's a shocker - it still is! Some of the lyrics show signs of the band maturing though, but fear not - there's still more silly lyrics here than on a dozen "standard" albums.

Tommy Denander (also the co-writer/producer), Kee Marcello, Sayit, Thomas Wikström, John Leven, Mic Michaeli, Ian Haughland and Marcel Jacob have all participated, and that's just to name a few.

The album kicks off with "Blah, Blah, Blah", a modern sounding pop rocker that reminds me a bit of The Rasmus ("Into"-era). Kinda throwaway but quite catchy nevertheless. What really starts the album for me is "Somewhere In The Dark", a monster rocker featuring Kee Marcello on guitars.

There are traces of Def Leppard and Treat in this one, and if you like those bands, you're going to love this track! "My Hometown" was released as the first single, and it is indeed quite radio-friendly pop rocker with a strong chorus. Same could be said of the album's title track, co-written by Europe's Mic Michaeli.

"22nd Of October" is one of the more mature lyrics on the album, Dag Finn's song to his new-born baby I believe. A good song, with a nice, if a very familiar sounding chorus - I believe Jan Johansen has something similar on one of his albums?

"Into The Fire" rates as the weakest song of the album. A bit boring when it comes to melodies, and the "higher-fire-wire" chorus is quite tiresome. "Get The Part Started" isn't one of my favourites either, but it's still more fun than the previous song. It must be a homage to Finn's heroes The Sweet? "Message Of Love" is pure pop, but a catchy number anyway. Then we're treated to one of the best tracks you're likely to hear this year, "Here I Am". This slightly balladic track is blessed with a superb chorus will have you singing along in no time.

"Big Bang" is the comic relief of the album, one of the most ridiculous choruses I've heard lately but damn catchy at the same time. It kind of reminds me of Aqua's "Barbie Girl"! The album ends with a trio of excellent songs, "This Is My Life" co-written by Steinar Hagen of Return, the ultra-melodic "Why Did I..?" and "Fortune And Fame", in which Dag Finn sings about reality TV shows, something he's quite familiar with...he was in a show called "Baren" himself a few years ago.

"The Race Is On" is going to be a big favourite among the fans of scandi-AOR. Hopefully Finn & Co can find an audience for this album beyond the hardcore fans as well.