It’s been over forty years since the dream police first took residence inside of my head and Cheap Trick made me feel like I was at Budokan with them, and half a century later they still sound like a band with something to prove as the perpetual underdogs of rock. The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers hit blackjack with their 21st studio album All Washed Up, a snotty, melody-soaked reminder that Rockford’s eternal tricksters are far from finished.

Led by the hook-heavy single “Twelve Gates,” All Washed Up finds Robin Zander, Rick Nielsen, Tom Petersson, and Daxx Nielsen tearing through a fresh batch of songs featuring their signature power-pop precision and punk bite. Produced by the band with Julian Raymond across Nashville and Los Angeles, and mixed by Chris Lord-Alge, the record sounds as exceptional as all the experts involved in making it. "Just one more great album from the best rock band in the world,” Zander said with a grin. And he may be bragging with a touch of sarcasm, but to be fair, he’s not wrong.

Few bands have weathered rock’s ever-changing tides quite like Cheap Trick. Formed in Illinois in the early ’70s, they built their legacy on razor-edged riffs, wry humor, and big-hearted pop hooks that ended up filling stadiums. From the glory of At Budokan, the 1979 live album that made “I Want You To Want Me” a global anthem, to the chart-topping late-’80s quick comeback “The Flame,” Cheap Trick have proven themselves masters of reinvention without ever losing their spark.

All Washed Up doesn’t just celebrate that legacy, it extends it. “Twelve Gates” comes crashing in with Zander’s ageless howl and Nielsen’s guitar fireworks. Elsewhere, the band leans into the blend of mischief and melody that’s always been their calling card with equal parts sharp, soulful, and always loud. The album’s title might sound like a joke, and knowing Cheap Trick, that’s the point. These guys have built an empire on being tongue-in-cheek, never taking themselves too seriously even as they write songs that outlast eras to become part of pop culture itself. All Washed Up is a record that defies that the rule that rock and roll is mainly a young person’s game, it’s also a lifer’s craft. And Cheap Trick are still the real thing.