antiMusic.com: The Cars - Move Like This Review

The Cars - Move Like This
by Dan MacIntosh

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Something happened to our love for The Cars in the '80s. Maybe all the MTV videos made us so tired of lead singer Ric Ocasek's ugly mug. Whatever it was, the band wore out its welcome. However, as much as we were all so ready send them packing we're now just as excited about their reunited return.

Move Like This has all the right The Cars moves. "Blue Tip," with its clipped electric guitar part, and especially because of its cool mid-song spoken word part, just rejuvenates mad Cars love. When the pretty ballad "Soon" plays, it brings back fond memories of "Drive," without question the best Cars ballad. The synth washes during "Take Another Look" also puts "Drive" to mind. In addition, other places similarly trigger specific memories. The handclap beat of "Sad Song" is a "Candy-O" Pavlovian moment, for sure, while the synth solo during "Free" feels drawn straight from the band's self-titled album debut.

Don't look for any heavy meaning in Cars songs because this group was always more of a sports car than a functional vehicle. Ah, but what flash! Whatever petered out toward the end of The Cars' journey seems to have been regained once again in full. The album simply feels good with the aural equivalent of new car smell.

Ocasek has never been a great singer. Nevertheless, there is character in his voice that never fails to strike a resonating nerve. He's like a weird guy that always has something interesting to say. It's hard to look him in the eye when he speaks, but if you can look down at your shoes for even a few minutes, you're bound to come away with a few memorable conversational morsels.

For some of us, The Cars' return is purely nostalgic. Think of us as those guys that still drive the muscle cars of our youth. Nevertheless, to our credit, they just don't make cars like they used to. The same can be said about rock bands.

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