Def Leppard sticks to its sound, and that's sad
It's quite possible that there's no room today for unironic rock. From the opening chord of "Yeah!," Def Leppard's first release in four years, the album's expectation's are set — and met with predictable mediocrity.
Nearly every song can be described as "Sounds like Def Leppard covering ______," and this is precisely what a covers album should not be. The band's take on hits by T. Rex and Thin Lizzy flaunt how derivative Leppard is, while Bowie and Kinks covers reveal their thinness.
The band themselves may not be to blame; Gen-Xers deflated rock's sincerity. Today, only commercial rappers can get away without some amount of irony, unabashedly flexing their cash, money and hoes. Really, they're the ones rocking out.