On the Prowl

On the Prowl is the sixth album, on which Steel Panther sounded the template of the 1980s glam metal they love with thoroughgoing humour and serious playing. Released in 2023. It's the record they made with a new line-up after Lexxi Foxx's departure and the open auditions that followed. Flashy guitar, thick harmony, catchy choruses and exaggerated storytelling: all of it functions as formal beauty, rigged so that laughter and elation rise at the same time. That said, it doesn't run on jokes alone. The riffs are thick, the solos smooth, and the rhythm carries the songs properly forward. Thirteen tracks, from the opener through to the closing “Sleeping on the Rollaway.” In particular, songs like “1987” — which take the era they idealize as their very subject — carry unmistakable affection. Because they know glam metal's pleasures inside out, they cross the line between parody and love with ease. Some will tire of the relentlessly smutty lyrics, but the standard of the playing is consistently high. A record for enjoying flashy rock 'n' roll unconditionally.