Cheap Trick never stopped working, persevering through both good times and bad. The 2010s wound up as something of a latter-day renaissance for the group, as they found a familiar groove with the adoption of
Rick Nielsen's son
Daxx as their regular drummer in 2010. At the end of the decade, they released a flurry of albums all recorded with co-producer
Julian Raymond.
In Another World -- an album set for 2020 release but pushed back a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic -- retains
Raymond, along with the same basic feel instituted on 2016's
Bang, Zoom, Crazy...Hello: a careful revival of all the tricks that made
Cheap Trick's first four albums power pop classics. Most of the time this means the band bashes out riff-heavy rockers dipped in candied
Beatlesque harmonies, but they also take the time to indulge in a little bit of psychedelia, not to mention the trippy "So It Goes," which hearkens back to "Mandocello."
Rick Nielsen's melodies are sharp, and
Robin Zander sounds vigorous -- he might not be mistaken for a young man in his twenties, but he hardly sounds as if he's pushing 70. The muscle and commitment of
Nielsen and
Zander help make
In Another World sound like a classic
Cheap Trick album. If
In Another World doesn't quite feel like a classic
Cheap Trick, blame that on the group's dogged adherence to their old blueprint; they follow it so closely that they don't allow room for adventure, mistake, or fashion. Maybe that means the album doesn't quite seem fresh, but it does hit its marks in a reliable, satisfying manner. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine