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The new Rooney album picks up where the old one left off; solid 80’s influenced rock with a pop foundation. If you’re not familiar with Rooney you’ve been missing out. Although the band borrows heavily from an era, they borrow heavily from a genre and an era that nobody is influenced heavily by anymore. All of that makes Rooney’s sound unique. The band’s exceptional skill at writing catchy songs only adds to that. If you are familiar with Rooney then you know what the last album was all about- that 80’s rock. Kind of like Boston in the band’s later days. With “Calling the World” that influence seems even greater. The single “Calling the World” is the band’s catchiest song yet. “When Did Your Heart Go Missing” sounds like it was recorded in 1985. And “I Should’ve Been After You” has that Boston influence pretty much dead on. The first three tracks are the strongest but the rest of the album does the job. The one thing I noticed about “Calling the World” was the advancement in content. Almost every Rooney song is a love song, and that’s the case here too but this time they are a little darker. So the great thing with Rooney is that they are incredibly unique in 2007. The not so great thing with Rooney is that there’s only so much you can handle. It’s not something that you are going to listen to everyday. But, just like the 80’s every now and then you’ll think of a song that you have to listen to. Rooney’s got that going for them hands down. Rooney is what it is; a fun listen. You can’t really call it much more than that. It’s not music that’s meant to change lives, it’s music that’s made for people to listen to and have fun with. It’s happy stuff even when it’s a break-up song. Rooney’s second album here in the U.S. “Calling the World” is another strong release for these guys and should allow them to keep going strong.