WHOOSH!

With their 21st album, Deep Purple become the first rock band to have released a studio album in seven different decades! A feat that testifies to this legendary act's loyalty to quality music. Whoosh!'s 13 songs alternate between DP's characteristic hard rock and blues, spiced with keyboard sounds and classic rock in general, resulting in a motley compilation that must not go unnoticed.

From a progressive point of listening, the solemn "Power of the Moon" and the heavy prog of "Man Alive", with its narration, delicious guitar solo signed by Steve Morse & ambient intro and outro, stand out. The latter could be viewed as the title track, tackling the issue of transitory nature of humanity, as symbolized by the man (a traveler of space and time) depicted on the cover. The band demonstrates mature restless musicianship in other tracks too, on "Nothing at All", with synth solo by Don Airey inspired by classical music, on the somber "Step by Step", which resonates with majestic sounds reminiscent of pipe organ, while the energetic instrumental "Remission Possible" is too frustratingly short.

A blend of raffish pop and rock heaviness is present in songs such as the danceable "Drop the Weapon" (cool off man, forget about it!), "No Need to Shout" (just shut your mouth and go away!) and the catchy "We're All the Same in the Dark". "What the What" makes sure to remind us that traces of good old rock 'n' roll can still be found in the hip-hop- dominated 21st century. Although none of the aforementioned songs is as outstanding and replayable as "Birds of Prey" and "The Surprising" from their previous album Infinite, the band, through this latest decent tracklist, shows it's still running strong, more than 50 years since its first riffs.