Since 1980, bands have been trying to rekindle the magic of THE BLASTERS. Swedish retro rockers, THE REFRESHMENTS, come close. With 1.5 million studio albums to their credit . . . okay, obviously I jest, but I counted 30 since 1997, so yeah, a lot albums. And on November 17, 2023, they’re releasing another one—“A Stiff One.” 

In my several years of writing for Metal Temple I’ve reviewed some of the most obscure, evil, extreme, and heavier than heavy Metal on the planet. But every now and then an oddity falls in my lap, like our marketing editor had a mind to fuck with my psyche. Or he just wanted to see how I would react or maybe test the elasticity of my ‘open-mindedness.’ Sometimes it ends in utter, terrible disaster. More often than not, though, it’s a success. All of that is to say, THE REPLACEMENTS is an unusual band to find in the archives of Metal Temple but, shit, I gotta give credit where credit is due. And THE REFRESHMENTS is a helluva a band, and “A Stiff One” is a helluva a fun album.

First some clarifications . . .

·         One: Not metal. This is old time rock music like the kind Bob Seger reminisced about. Think 1950’s rock ‘n’ roll, the movie “American Graffiti,” and the aforementioned 1980’s phenomenon, THE BLASTERS. 

·         Two: “A Stiff One” refers to a drink (as per the martini glass on the cover) and not that other thing you were thinking of.

·         Three: Goddamn Sweden. Do they have to be great at all music? I mean, I just reviewed an album by THE COFFINSHAKERS. They specialize in Horror Country. I mean, wtf. And now I get THE REFRESHEMENTS. As if IKEA wasn’t enough.

·         Four: Bad name; good band. It happens sometimes.

“A Stiff One” has 13 tracks and runs for 48 minutes. Best tracks always come down to preference, but I favored the opening track “Travellin’ Light,” the highly infectious “Mamma Rosa,” the good time rocking “No Mojo,” the soulful “Midnite Blues,” and the Chuck Berry homage “GoGoGo.” Regrets? “Howard the Coward” is musically okay, but the lyrics. Why? Uncomfortably recalls visions of “Howard the Duck” (the 1986 movie not the 70’s comic) and “Coward of the County” (Kenny Rogers, 1979), but all rolled up into unfortunate ditty.

Apparently, the band has sold over half a million albums. Which is a lot for an old-time rock ‘n’ roll band based in Northern Europe. Most metal bands would carry out any number of morally questionable acts to get those type of numbers, so there’s something going on here. And that’s right, half a million people can’t be wrong. I mean, technically they can be catastrophically wrong, but for the sake of my point we’ll just go with it. THE REFRESHMENTS are popular because they have market appeal, which is a fancy way of saying people like them. So, if you can be open-minded enough, go get you “A Stiff One.”