Nic Cester
Sugar Rush

Some of you will surely remember Jet, the Australian rock band that dominated the charts between 2003 and 2009, selling over six million records in total.

From that band, the Australian (but with Venetian origins) Nic Cester was the leader until their disbandment in 2012 (although in 2016, Jet reunited at Bruce Springsteen's request to support him for five dates in 2017). After a long period away from the scene (during which Nic traveled a lot until finally settling in Como), the singer-songwriter decided to make a move, and thus his first solo project was born, named "Sugar Rush."

Produced by the experienced Jim Abbiss (an expert producer with a resume boasting heavyweight names like Queens Of The Stone Age, Stereophonics, Bjork, Adele, Arctic Monkeys, and Kasabian) and recorded by Tommaso Colliva between the Officine Meccaniche in Milan and Lyndhurst Hall, the album was developed together with a highly respected band; Calibro 35, a funk-jazz collective from Milan with a passion for soundtracks and 70s Italian crime films.

As we can imagine, virtually nothing of Jet's visceral hard rock remains; "Sugar Rush" is a record that rarely nods to contemporary sounds (as the lead single "Psichebello," heavily influenced by the most psychedelic Kasabian, might have mistakenly suggested) but focuses entirely on a perfectly achieved and never stale vintage effect (it would have been an enormous challenge to make a bad record with Calibro 35, it must be said). The title track, placed at the outset, makes this clear immediately, with Hammond and brass, built on a sound structure predominantly seventies-oriented.

"Sugar Rush" draws heavily from soul, blues, even hip-hop, without ever showing signs of weakness or disunity. Nic Cester's voice is in spectacular form (the second single "Who You Think You Are," an intense homage to the Motown Sound, and the brilliant and delightfully bluesy "God Knows," along with the melancholic third single set for release next month, "Hard Times," are impressive for their intensity), and Calibro 35 do a sumptuous job supporting it to the fullest, even when more contemporary influences are sought again, between the Muse-esque brevity of "On Top Of The World" and the cinematic britpop closure of "Walk On."

Also noteworthy is the band with which Nic Cester presents the album in live version, named for the occasion Milano Elettrica: it consists of Sergio Carnevale (Bluvertigo), Daniel Plentz (Selton), Adriano Viterbini on guitar (Bud Spencer Blues Explosion), Raffaele Scogna on bass, Roberto Dragonetti on keyboards (Ghemon), and the brass section of Domenico Mamone and Paolo Ranieri.

One of the surprises of 2017, "Sugar Rush" unexpectedly projects Nic Cester among the artists from whom we expect a brilliant confirmation, hopefully as soon as possible.

Best track: Psichebello