After fans waited 24 years – assuming that the Cars would never reform – it has happened. Today marks the release of the first Cars record, Move Like This, since 1987’s Door To Door. Sadly, singer and bassist Benjamin Orr passed away from cancer in 2000. The four remaining original members, Ric Ocasek (vocals, guitar), Elliott Easton (lead guitar), Greg Hawkes (keyboards), and David Robinson (drums), will hit the road tonight for a quick U.S. tour.

Fans are hopeful that if all goes well, the band will return to the road and visit those cities they missed in May. Move Like This finds the Cars right where they left off over two decades ago with punchy power pop, great guitar licks, and Ocasek’s matter-of-fact vocals. These cuts could easily have been outtakes from any number of Cars LPs, yet their sound and attitude is all 2011.

Move is full of gems that – if you liked The Cars before – will surely please you. “Blue Tip” and “Sad Song” have been circulating the internet for a few months now, but there is so much more here. “Too Late” is a mid-tempo charmer that showcases some nice harmonies. “Soon” finds Ocasek in an effective slo-mo love song. “Sad Song” kicks off with hand claps sounding almost too similar to 1979’s “Let’s Go,” but soon escalates into something bigger.

“Free” is surely on the release schedule as a single. Guitars. Harmonies. Cars. Overall, true fans will not be disappointed. This is as fresh as the Cars have ever been. When Ric sings, “Must this drag on forever?” we certainly hope so.

The band is hitting the road tonight in Seattle and will end up on the 26th in their hometown of Boston.

May
10 Seattle – Showbox SoDo
12 Los Angeles – Palladium
13 Oakland – Fox Theater
15 Denver – The Fillmore
17 Minneapolis – First Avenue
18 Chicago – Riviera Theatre
20 Toronto – Sound Academy
22 Philadelphia – Electric Factory
23 Washington, DC – 9:30 Club
25 New York, NY – Roseland
26 Boston – House of Blues

For more information, go to http://www.thecars.org/.