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HOT NEW REVIEWS
Fahran 'Chasing
hours' (Independent/UK Import)
As
soon as the opening song Long gone blasts out my speakers I am impressed by the
immense high quality of this sensational British Melodic Hardrockband Fahran.
The fact that the record dates back to 2014 makes me even more surprised why
this hasn't been picked up yet by the media. These guys rock big time and
basically everything sounds perfect here, the way melodic hardrock should sound
like, somewhere between Firehouse, Gotthard and Jaded Heart, so with a sorta
early 90s vibe, yet still sounding fresh. The music and production is superb,
the vocals by singer Matt Black (ex-Serpentine) are terrific and the guitarwork
of Jake Graham really amazing, while almost every song is a winner here.
Absolute highlights besides the already mentioned opening track are A thousand
nights, Cased in steel, Back to me and Are we free. Must-have for fans of high
quality melodic hardrock! More info at: https://www.fahran.com/
Back
to the 70s/early 80s powerpop is the clear answer given by Circus Of Mirth, a
Florida based band formed around Terry Carolan (vocals, guitar, bass,
keyboards, drums), Robert Woodrich (vocals, bass) played, Ralph Smith (vocals,
guitar, keyboards) and Robert Watkins (bass). Terry's music was reviewed
before, as he has a long history as a solo musician and he played in several
bands as well. The latest release is Heir of fortune, as part of the band
Circus Of Mirth, whom musically speaking grab back late 70s/early 80s Powerpop
reminding of The Knack, The Romantics, Trickster, Badfinger, The Kings, The
Rembrandts, Big Star, The Raspberries, Pilot, etc. etc. They are doing a very
good job in creating that classic vibe of mentioned bands. The music has a
slight psychedelic touch to it and really sounds like it was recorded somewhere
in 1979. Vocally, Terry has a sorta David Bowie kinda tone in his voice, just
listen to the uptempo Shine, where you can hear a clearl resemblance. Anyway, I
can definitely highly recommend this record to fans of mentioned bands. Go
check out more at: https://www.terrycarolan.com/
The
Leeds, UK based band Syteria is formed around Girlschool guitarist Jackie
Chambers and musically their debut album Rant-o-bot is not far removed from the
classic Girlschool sound. This is female fronted melodic hardrock/rock'n'roll
with a dirty sleazy punky touch at it's best. Perhaps not the most original
sound, but done very well and a must-have for Girlschool fans. 12 songs are
included and most of them are uptempo and straight in your face with a
no-nonsense rock and roll approach. The more melodic rock based Complication
and Loner are the absolute highlights, but actually there's not a single weak
tune to be found here. The band's singer Julia Calvo has a great strong voice
that perfectly suits the music and instrumental it all sounds very much in the
classic rock tradition. The production is very professional and last but not
least, there's a vinyl edition release of this record! More info at: http://www.syteria.co.uk
Rocha
'Unum' (Raging Planet/Portugal Import)
The
Wow factor for sure! What a surprise we have here! Rocha stands for a project
formed around Rui Rocha, a Portuguese keyboardist and songwriter,who is helped
by Jeff Paris, Michael Landau (Steve Perry, Chicago, Kenny Loggins), Michael
Thompson (Richard Marx, Robin Beck), Paul Pesco (Michael Bolton), Tim Pierce
(Stan Bush, Fiona), Matt Bissonette (David Lee Roth, Lita Ford), Jimmy Haslip
(Jimmy Barnes, Blackjack), Dave Weckl, Gary Novak, Marco Minnemann (Satriani,
Silver), Vinnie Colaiuta (Eric Martin, Asia), Jeff Lorber, Richard Baker
(Shortino/Northrup, Bonrud) the legendary Lenny Castro (Toto and countless
others), Eric Marienthal (Idle Cure, Kitaro), Alex Ligertwood (Foreigner,
Radioactive), Dan Reed, Terry Ilous (XYZ, Great White) and a few more. The list
of musicians and backing singers is incredible and resembles top-notch classic
AOR/Westcoast! On vocals we can hear the fantastic Jeff Pescetto and none-other
than Keith Olsen (Rick Springfield, Preview, Whitesnake, Fleetwood Mac...)
produced the debut album Unum.
Other View
'When The Daylight Is Gone' (Independent/Italy Import)
Quite
a sensational band from Italy with a really strong melodic progressive metal
release in the style of DGM. When the daylight is gone is their 2nd album and
right from the opening song Vantage you can hear that this is progmetal of a
very high level. It sounds very melodic and catchy, with memorable choruses,
while instrumental the band is also top-notch. Other View has a great singer (Lon
Hawk) as well, so nothing negative to say about this album, except perhaps that
it might not sound really original, as we have heard this style many times
before. However, once again it impresses me which is always the case with good
high quality progmetal albums. Make sure to check out this lovely little record
in case you're a fan of bands like DGM, Threshold, Pagan's Mind, Pyramaze...
More info at:
http://www.otherviewband.net/
Already
the 5th album of the German band New Damage, but the first time I get to hear
them. The band is playing a mixture of alternative and progressive metal, with
a very modern approach, yet sounding quite melodic. Not bad at all what we get
to hear, but somehow I miss the connection to make them standout between the
countless other bands doing the same style. Nevertheless, check them out for
yourself at: http://www.newdamage.de/
Out
of Canada comes the band Derwood, formed around guitarist/bassist/vocalist
Derwood, along with guitarist/drummer/producer Jeff Muller. Renegade is their
debut album, which musically grabs back to 1980s hair metal with a touch of
1970s classic rock. It all reminds me quite a lot of the legendary Helix
actually, if anyone remembers that Canadian band, otherwise 80s Hollywood Metal
a la LA Guns/Motley Crue/etc. might also be a good description. Not a classic,
but definitely recommended to the fans of sleazy dirty raw rock and roll in the
best 80s North American style you can think of, as if the Sunset Strip of 1985
has resurrected in Canada as Derwood. More info at: https://derwood1.bandcamp.com/
Fink 'Resurgasm'
(R'Coup'D/PIAS/DGR Music)
Fin
Greenall is a British musician living in Berlin and he has been releasing
records since 2000. Earlier this year we reviewed his wonderful side-project
record Sunday night blues club volume 1 and now it's time for Resurgasm. From
the bluesrock back into modest somewhat funky slow almost church like soulful
singer/songwriter pop on this new record, which is released just 6-7 months
after that side-project's blues album. The title means "I shall rise
again" - it's taken from a Latin inscription in a 900-year-old church in
Greenall’s native Cornwall. The album was produced by Flood (U2, Warpaint, The
Killers, PJ Harvey) and sounds actually like a cross between Sting and Rufus
Wainwright (musically) and Rag'n'Bone Man (vocally), although on the other hand
it sounds like Fink, because he has been in the music business the past 20
years, so he has created his own sound by now. Fin has a wonderful voice and he
will definitely really grab you when performing live on stage, but secretly I
am more a fan of that bluesy side project he released earlier this year, so if
I would have to choose, then go for Sunday night blues club volume 1! Can't
wait for Volume 2, but meanwhile Fink fans can already enjoy another great
album of this talented musician!
The
Nordic mellow is the debut album of the Norwegian singer/songwriter Siv
Jakobsen. Although compared to Laura Marling and Ane Brun, she also reminds me
of the good old 1970s and then Joni Mitchell in particular. Although some might
not really like listening to a full album with such kinda vocals, but I think
it's safe to say here that Siv has an unique tone in her voice, just like Joni
or Kate Bush for example. The way she sings is not heard everyday and therefore
she stands out easily between the countless other singer/songwriters out there.
The album was produced by Matt Ingram (The Staves, Laura Marling, Katie Melua,
Tom Odell, Michael Kiwanuka, Jake Bugg and Florence and the Machine). 10 songs
are included and they take you on a journey to the empty Norwegian fjords and
fields. Not a single dull moment and Siv might become a big star in the future,
well at least in the music press world she will definitely receive a lot of
praise...
Wolf Alice
'Visions of a life' (Dirty Hit Records/Caroline/DGR Music)
The
London based band Wolf Alice had their big break in 2015 with their debut album
My love is cool. They now follow it up with Visions of a life, which musically
follows the same path more or less. Originally they started as a two-person
band in 2010, but since 2012 the line-up consists of Ellie Rowsell (vocals,
guitar), Joff Oddie (guitars, vocals), Theo Ellis (bass), and Joel Amey (drums,
vocals). The new album was produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Paramore, Beck,
Nine Inch Nails) and Tom Elmhirst (David Bowie, Arcade Fire, Adele). The band's
mixture of alternative noisy rock/punk, 90s female fronted pop/rock and melodic
almost ambient sounding dream wave pop is making their music quite diverse and
attractive actually. For instance opener Heavenward is beautiful melodic dream
wave pop that could easily be played on the radio and become a massive hit,
while following track Yuk fee has a guitar riff stolen from U2's I will follow,
but is vocally screaming it's way into typical noise/punk/alternative direction
of the 90s (Smashing Pumpkins). The diversity continues with the semi rocker
Beautifully unconvential that also has a sorta 90s approach, but then like The
Pretenders meets The Cranberries. Back into more ambient dream wave pop again
with Don't delete the kisses, it's Cocteau Twins time again. Personally I'm a
sucker for this kind of style, so it's good to see the band bringing enough of
such songs on their new album. On the other hand, their diversity in styles is
something we need to praise, because that makes listening to their music a
challenge and a real adventure...
The Silver
Mirrors 'Witching hour Tape/The Silver Mirrors' (Winer Records/USA Import)
Classic
Rock, Psychedelic Rock and Garage Rock is the mixture we hear on the CD and the
tape of the Boston based band The Silver Mirrors. It's really fascinating to
see a tape being released, because that rarely happens in the music history,
although there seems to be a revival of the tape in the past few months. Let's
first concentrate on their same titled mini-CD. It contains 3 songs, starting
with the Garage Rocker Between my eyes, followed by the awesome Blue Oyster
Cult ish sounding 70s classic rocker Sunshine space. Closing track is Can you
feel me, a late 1960s psychedelica rock tune a la Them and The Doors. This band
sounds quite sensational and could definitely breakthrough if they're lucky, as
they have a great singer in their line-up and a cool retro rocksound. The tape
album Witching hour, which they also sent me, it consists of 5 tracks, which
musically is a mixture of the earlier mentioned 60s/70s rock styles. Without a
doubt, we have a highly recommended band here, as they sound really underground
and capture a sound that resembles a period in music history (1965-1976) where
bands were innovative and had an own identity, unlike the internet generation
of the past 25 years I'm afraid. Anyway, check them out at: http://www.thesilvermirrors.com/
Kane'D 'Rise'
(Ryka Music/UK Import)
Out
of Wales comes Kane'D, a hard-hitting classic female fronted melodic rock and
roll band in the style of classic 80s Vixen and Envy, yet with still a modern
approach (a la Halestorm, Paramore...). What sets them apart is the fact that
they have 3 sisters as singers and are backed up by a 4-piece male band. The
girls are called Stephanie, Stacey Marie and Chez Kane, and they can all sing
very well, while together they bring some beautiful harmonyvocals throughout
each and every song. Without a doubt, this is a high quality release with only
sensational tracks that are extremely melodic, catchy and rock quite hard
nonetheless. Highlights among the 10 included tracks are Hero, Guilty of
nothing and Wasted time, but actually each song is a winner for the fans of
female fronted melodic rock. Don't miss this album! More info at: http://www.kaned.co.uk/
Find
my way is already the 6th album of the American singer/songwriter Craig
Cassler. He released his debut back in 2007 and now 10 years later has built up
a nice discography. The album is quite calm, with here and there a rock touch,
such as during the semi ballad Scars and lines. Some Bob Dylan comparisons can
be drawn, but also Leonard Cohen passes by here and there musically speaking.
It's more or less singer/songwriter ish folk/pop with a raspy voice, done quite
nicely, with a strong 70s approach. Not bad at all actually, so go check it out
at: http://craigcassler.com/
Cats In
Space 'Scarecrow' (Harmony Factory/UK Import)
"Pomprock
Heaven" is the name of the game on the 2nd CD of the UK based band Cats In
Space. They were formed in 2015 around Paul Manzi - Lead Vocal /
Electro-Acoustic six string guitar, Greg Hart (Moritz, If Only) - Guitars /
Backing vocals, Steevi Bacon (Robin Trower) - Drums / Percussion, Dean Howard
(Ian Gillan) - Guitars, Jeff Brown - Bass Guitar / Backing Vocals and Andy
Stewart - Piano / Keyboards / Synths, with as guest musician Mick Wilson of
10CC - Co-lead vocals/backing vocals and additional instrumentation. Scarecrow
is a sensational record that is basically pure Pomp Rock/AOR Heaven with many
references to 1970s Styx, a little Queen and every now and then you can hear
influences of Magnum, City Boy and 10CC. 10 songs are included and all of them
are loaded with soaring choruses that contain multiple catchy harmonyvocal
driven choruses a la Queen/Styx, Boston ish guitarwork, dut-dut keys out of the
classic 80s AOR book and basically every song is an absolute winner for fans of
high quality music in the style of the mentioned bands! It sounds fresh and
still very familiar to the fans of mentioned bands and simply blows away any of
the wanna-be AOR releases on Frontiers Records. Opener Jupiter calling is
massive midtempo Pomprock as if Styx, Magnum and Touch joined forces and made a
song together, while the superb chorus of the uptempo AOR rocker The mad
hatter's tea party will wet the appetite of any fan of the classic AOR/Pomprock
genre. This song also reminds me a bit of early Robby Valentine. Clown in your
nightmare is basically pure 10CC meets City Boy light quirky melodic
pop/powerpoprock. The semi-ballad Scars features amazing vocals and has a huge
classic 70s Styx sound, with even some Neal Morse similarities. It is really a
blessing to finally hear such a beautiful album as this one, which will easily
end up high in the charts of 2017 of every serious music fan out there. And
when you think it's all over, they come up with September rain, which is
midtempo Pomprock Heaven in all it's glory, very close to classic Roadmaster,
Styx and such legendary 70s acts. We're only halfway there, because with Broken
wing, Cats In Space continues the Pomprock flag, this time moving a bit more
into the style of very early Magnum. Two fifty nine is once again very Styx
based, with also some melodic rock influences and actually this tune reminds me
a lot of the bands Aerial and Stingray. A little poppier in a 10CC meets City
Boy meets Trickster ish direction we can find Felix & The Golden Sun, a
very 1970s sounding tune in all it's pure pop perfection. Timebomb is a nice
melodic rocker, while closing track Scarecrow is a lovely mixture of Pomprock,
Neo-Prog and Melodic Rock, like a mixture between Styx, It Bites, Arena and
especially that legendary Swedish band A.C.T. Concluded, this is a Pomprock
Masterpiece everyone needs to own if you're a fan of any of the mentioned
bands, because Scarecrow is dangerously close to the perfection of the late
1970s US Pomp Rock era. Check out everything on this fabulous band at: http://www.catsinspaceband.com/
Debbie
Traylor 'It's time' (CME Records/MRI/RED/USA Import)
All
fans of 80s female fronted AOR please pay attention for the release of this
wonderful album of Louisiana based singer Debbie Traylor. Recorded a long time
ago, but now remastered from the original tapes comes her album It's time,
which she recorded back in the day with legendary Lillian Axe guitarist Steve
Blaze, who also produced it. The 10 included tracks are basically pure 80s AOR/Poprock,
reminding me a lot of Jackie Bodimead, Fiona, Donna Cristy, Steffanie and
Josette. Especially the uptempo AOR rockers Give me my heart back, It's time,
Techno man, Here I go again, Whispers in the night and Impossible love are
absolute must-hear tunes for the fans of that classic 80s female fronted AOR
sound. Debbie has a great voice and the songs are deadly catchy, with also
awesome guitarwork by Steve, so make sure not to miss this release. Available
through: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=ntt_srch_drd_B06WLGZHN2?ie=UTF8&field-keywords=Debbie%20Traylor&index=digital-music&search-type=ss
Frank &
Howdy 'The road not traveled' (Crystal Sound/USA Import)
Originally
recorded somewhere in the 1980s probably, it is now released officially on CD
for the first time, an album filled with songs of the duo Frank Wiewel and
Keith "Howdy" Brown. They worked together for a while, but eventually
ended up playing and recording seperately in the bands Hawks and Locust, but
also produced together records of Melvin James (MCA recording artist in the
1980s) and several others. The road not traveled was released through Keith Brown's
Crystal Sound studios/records, which is based in Des Moines, Iowa. The included
music is a step back in time, straight to 1981-1983 when this kind of mixture
of AOR, New Wave, Poprock and some English quirky pop was done by countless
acts. I hear so many familiar similarities, especially during the uptempo AOR/Poprock
based tunes, such as We need to love, If I loved you, I hear voices and I was
only dreaming, which are all a rollercoaster ride that makes you think of
(mostly) long-forgotten acts like The Ravijns, USA, Tommy Tutone, Eddie Money,
Preview, Rick Springfield, The Romantics, Face Dancer, Novo Combo, etc. etc. Go
check it out asap if this is up your alley at: https://store.cdbaby.com/cd/frankandhowdy
Out
of Sweden comes Dynamite, a typical AC/DC influenced classic hardrockband that
has a sound which sounds very cliche tingled of course, but on the other hand a
winner for fans of Dirty Looks, Krokus, AC/DC (of course), Kix, Heavy Pettin',
Britny Fox, Madam X, Nevada Beach, etc. Their 3rd album Big bang was produced
and recorded by Mankan Sedenberg in PAMA Studios and co-written by multi
million-selling songwriter Andreas Carlsson (Paul Stanley, Bon Jovi, Europe,
Def Leppard). The result is a nice record, although I must say that it sounds
all really familiar and vocally speaking it is not as good as their
comparisons. Nevertheless, the production is huge and fans of mentioned bands
will definitely find something they like. 11 tracks are included and with song
titles like Rock n Roll ain't dead, Hooked on you, Bring it on, Got my eyes on
you and such, we're heading straight into that 80s classic sleazy hard rock
direction of bands like Dirty Looks and Krokus, so if you want to hear a new
similar sounding band, then please look no further than this Dynamite! More at:
http://www.dynamitesweden.com/
Cavalen
'Cavalen Tape' (Independent/Xo Publicity/USA Import)
Never
in my life I imagined that the old cassette tape as an audio type would make a
comeback. After the vinyl revival it seems the tape is the next trend in the
music industry. Just recently I received a tape from a local US band and
Cavalen is the next in line to release their music in this format. 3 songs are
on their tape and this female fronted band from Birmingham, Alabama, USA sounds
really impressive. Hard-hitting groovy classic hard rock with a modern twist,
like AC/DC mixed with a dash of Soundgarden and superb raw female vocals (Shellina
Ryals) a la Janis Joplin and Stevie Nicks. Talk talk and Viva adore are instant
winners here for the fan of straight ahead classic hardrock, while Delicate
slide is a bit noisier and grungier a la Phantom Blue. Definitely a band to
watch out for and hopefully also soon vinyl releases of this awesome band. On
the other hand, the tape as format is really great and takes me back to the mid
1990s when I received countless tapes of independent bands for review. The
times before mp3 and spotify, vinyl wasn't pressed anymore and even burning
your own CD(R) was a very expensive thing to do, so a tape release was the only
way. Times have changed for sure, but 2017 marks a cool comeback of the tape!
Long live Cavalen! Check them out at: http://press.badabuzz.com/cavalen
Sounding
far from original, the band Concordea is formed around Daria Piankova (guitars
and lyrics) and Aleksei Turetckov (Keyboards, arrangements), with as guest
musicians Ilya Reyngard (bass player from Russian band Incarnator) and young
Italian singer Filippo Tezza (Chronosfear, Tezza F.). Together they recorded
the cliche tingled Italo Power Metal record Over Wide Spaces. Labyrinth, Vision
Divine, Rhapsody and Stratovarius are clear influences here and although it
isn't sounding bad at all, the songs are very close to their influences and the
drums are sadly coming out of a computer, so a drum computer. If you're a huge
fan of the Italo Power Metal sound, you will like this a lot, although I put
them under Skylark, so then you will more or less get the picture what to think
of Concordea. More info at: https://concordea.bandcamp.com/releases
Formed
back in 2010, the Italian band Victim Of Illusion take us on a journey straight
through typical modern melodic progressive metal in the style of Threshold.
Invisible light is their 3rd album so far and I must admit that it sounds
really good. 8 songs are included and the material is mostly midtempo
orientated with a strong focus on beautiful melodies. The band has a strong
lead singer called Paolo Gurlino, while the other 2 members are Piero Giaccone (guitars,
synth, programmings) and Luca Imerito (bass). The only pity is that they don't
have a drummer in their line-up and here and there we can hear some slight
modern hi-tech influences, but overall it has a strong Threshold ish sound.
Especially the beginning of the album offers some really great tunes you need
to check out if you're a dedicated Threshold fan! More info at: http://victimofillusion.wixsite.com/victimofillusion
D2UR
(Pronounced: Detour) is a Canadian band from Winnipeg, Manitoba formed around
the fantastic female singer Di IZ and guitarists Mike Isbister and Glen Wowryk.
They were formed back in 2013 and Tic toc is their 2nd album, which also
features the guest performances of Murray Pulver (Doc Walker, Crash Test
Dummies), Ken (Spider) Sinneave (Streetheart, Tom Cochrane, Loverboy), Chris
Sutherland (Kim Mitchell, Sass Jordan), Emmet Van Etten (The Webber Brothers)
and it was produced by Howard Klopak (The Guess Who, Harlequin). Basically this
is a classic piece of Canadian Hardrock that reminds me quite a lot of the
classic sounds of Toronto and Headpins. Straight-ahead uptempo classic hardrock
and roll with catchy singable choruses and AC/DC ish guitarwork, while the
female lead vocals sound very impressive. Perhaps not original, it does sound
quite nice and is highly recommended to fans of mentioned bands. Check it out
for yourself at: http://d2ur.net/wordpress/
Prospekt
'The illuminated sky' (Laser's Edge/Sensory Records/Bertus)
The
British band Prospekt released their debut The colourless sunrise back in 2013,
but now 4 years later there have been some changes. The band features a new
singer called Michael Moriss, with whom the follow-up The illuminated sky has
been recorded. Without a doubt, the result is a fantastic melodic progressive
metal release. Dream Theater and Symphony X are their major influences, which
you can also clearly hear. However, the overall sound is actually somewhere
between Fates Warning, Circus Maximus, Threshold and Pagan's Mind. The fans of
high class melodic progressive metal then know what to do, because this is one
of those records you absolutely don't want to miss! The high pitched vocals,
the melodies, the complexity of the song structures and the powerful
instrumental sound are all of an
incredible high level. Definitely a highly recommended album to check out
a.s.a.p.! More info at: https://www.facebook.com/ProspektUK/
The Two
Romans 'Sun' (Black Pike Favorites/Swiss Import)
The
Swiss band The Two Romans was formed just 2 years ago and their latest EP Sun
starts with a real winner for the modern radio market, because Cutting strings
is a very catchy modern melodic poprocker with a deadly memorable chorus. They
remind me of a cross between Nelson, Sunrise Avenue and The Killers. The name
of the band refers to the 2 Roman brothers in the line-up, Samuele Zanella (Vocals)
and Mattia Zanella (Vocals/Guitar/Banjo). Together they sing lead- and
harmonyvocals and the other 4 members give the beautiful harmonyvocals of the
brothers a slightly rocking approach (Mumford And Sons meets Bryan Adams kinda
sound). This is picture-perfect radio ready poprock, so if they're lucky, The
Two Romans might easily become the next big thing! The midtempo Fighters is
sounding like a huge hitsingle, which in the hands of Bryan Adams or
Stereophonics or The Gaslight Anthem would have instantly become a classic
among the fans. Don't miss this great little EP from our Swiss friends at: http://www.thetworomans.com/
The
past 20 years the American singer/songwriter Seth Walker has been releasing
records on and off, with Gotta get back being his 9th album so far. It's
actually a very diverse record, combining elements of blues, rock, r&b,
funk, pop, soul, reggae, singer/songwriter and loads more 'Americana' genres.
Seth sounds almost like JD McPherson ish rockabilly/50s rock and roll during a
song like Way past midnight, while Home again is a typical singer/songwriter
classic kinda tune that changes into a cheerful poptune halfway. Turn This
Thing Around switches to Reggae in the Bob Marley style (although Sam Cooke is
also a clear comparison here), while The sound of your voice is a beautiful
calm soulful tune that even reminds one of Johnny Mathis. And it goes on and on
during the 12 included tracks, where Seth shows he has a great voice with a
real charasmatic tone that makes him sometimes sound like a classic 60s
soulsinger. As you can see, there's really a lot to explore here, so don't miss
this secret little gem of Seth Walker. More at: http://sethwalker.com/
Here
comes the latest sensational duo rockband! The Swift Drag is a
southern-gothic-psychedelic rock duo from Austin, Texas fronted by
singer/guitarist Will Evans and backed by David Jobe on drums. We Won’t Need
That is their debut EP and the 5 included songs are showing a band that has potential
to become huge. This is how dinosaur rock should sound like a mixture between
The Doors, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin and The White Stripes. Definitely a band to keep
our eyes wide open for in the future. More at: https://www.theswiftdrag.com
80s
Synthpop giants OMD (Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark) are back with a new album,
The punishment of luxury. It is their 13th studio album and their 3rd since
they reformed back in 2005, featuring original members like Andy McCluskey –
bass guitar, keyboards, vocals and Paul Humphreys – keyboards, vocals. The
beginning of the record is quite good, with happy 80s synth driven pop tunes,
but 3rd song Robot man marks a slight change into a more electronic/dark-wave
style of the 90s. it's not bad at all, but somehow OMD sounds at their best
when they go for that typical 80s style, which is not strange, since they had
their greatest successes in that decade. Besides the first 2 songs, also One
more time and Ghost star grab back to classic 80s kitsch sound. Concluded, this
album has more or less 2 faces, but long-time fans of the band will definitely
like The punishment of luxury, because overall it is bringing the typical
Synthpopsound.
Out
of Germany comes Razz, a band formed in 2011 and making their debut in 2015
with the album With your hand we'll conquer. Now they follow it up with
Nocturnal, an album filled with 11 new tunes. The music of Razz is basic modern
rock, radio-ready and close to bands like Kings Of Leon and Kensington. The
vocalwork is not that strong and the material is not really making any impact.
In fact, most of the songs seem to follow the same path of mentioned bands.
Diversity and originality seem to be missing here, as most of the songs go in
an uptempo direction without bringing memorable tunes. Live they might make
more impact, but this album just misses that extra bit you need desperately in
the current rock business.
The
Australian band Blow was formed in 2005 and has meanwhile built a name as a
cover band. Thankfully they are also doing originals and were kind enough to
sent me their 2 studio albums and also a solo release of one of the members.
Blow consists of Claude Poffandi (Guitar and Vocals),Tony Townsend (Vocals),
Robert Poffandi (Vocals and Guitar), Lou Amato (Bass), and Curtis Martin
(Drums). Endless night is their debut from 2012 and in 2016 When I'm gone was
released in 2016. 2 albums filled with good clean old fashioned classic
hardrock in the early 1980s style. If anyone out there remembers the Aussie band
Boss, well, Blow is in the exact same style, with also some similarities to
Swanee here and there. It might sound dated to some, the traditional classic
hardrock is done very well here, with as highlights the uptempo melodic rockers
such as It's a start, Goodbye, 1,000 miles and I know, songs you can easily
sing-a-long with. Guitarist Claude also sent me his solo-CD Inspirations, which
musically is not too far removed from Blow, but then isntrumental and with a
clear melodic approach in the guitarwork. Check out everything on this band at:
http://www.rocklaw.com.au/blow
Innuendo
'The road not taken' (Independent/USA Import)
This
is personally for me a real nice trip down memory lane, because way back in
1994-1995 I reviewed the debut album of this Arizona based band Innuendo. And
now in 2017 they were kind enough to sent me their 7th album release so far and
I really enjoyed this awesome new record entitled The road not taken. It is a
lovely high class melodic rock/AOR album that reminds me a lot of the lovely
late 80s/early 90 US sound of bands like Nelson, Sure Conviction, Firehouse,
Know Illusion, Final Frontier, Loud'N'Clear, etc. etc. yet there's definitely
more going on here. 11 songs are included and it's good to see the original
members Brett Richey (guitar, bass, keys, drums) and singer Pat Laferty still
on board. Pat is a fantastic singer, with an incredible range and the
harmonyvocals make it a real ultra-melodic affair. Opener The other side of
town sets the bar pretty high, because this is a lovely uptempo melodic rocker
like a cross between Nelson and Sure Conviction. The band is during the ballad
orientated pieces dangerously close to picture-perfect 80s AOR Power balladry,
just check out The road not taken and Don't take it for granted, with it's
Boston anthem like melodies. Beautiful classic AOR/melodic rock the way it is
meant to be, with it's Journey esque high pitched vocals. On the other hand, we
can also find some clear 70s Pomprock influences during the midtempo Waiting
for you (Rail meets Roadmaster!) and Digital ocean 1974, with it's cool
keyboard solo almost akin to Angel. Quite a surprise such songs, but actually
there's not a single weak moment to be find here. There's a lot of diversity
going on as well, because the super melodic tunes Little less grey and Going
thru the motions offer melodies that remind me somehow of the band Rox Diamond.
Strangely enough there's also some Legs Diamond similarities here and there and
I even heard some Wrabit similarities a couple of times, so in the end, this is
a mixture of late 80s/early 90s US melodic rock and classic mid to late 70s
pomp hardrock, mostly based around highly melodic (harmony) vocals and precise
soaring guitarwork. Back to the last 4 songs on the CD, because with Playing my
guitar, Innuendo takes a trip back into early 80s smooth westcoast ish AOR that
touches the souls of Shelter and Franke and The Knockouts. Replaced follows in
an almost similar AOR path, with some nice piano-keyboardwork and perhaps a
little more proggy (a la Enchant), while Almost innocent has a Powerpop touch
of the Jellyfish kind and closing track Far be it from me is a nice AOR ish
ballad again, with Journey similarities and a superb guitarsolo. This is definitely
a highly recommended album to any AOR/Melodic Rockfan out there! This is
probably the finest Innuendo record since I got to know them almost 23 years
ago! Check out more at: https://brettricheymusic.com/music
Solitude
Within 'Disappear' (Boxfish Records/Belgium Import)
Solitude
Within is a band from Belgium, formed just a few years ago and now releasing
their first album on their own label. The band features a really great female
singer called Emmelie Arents and the band's music is more or less the modern
female fronted Gothic Symphonic Melodic Heavy Rock/Metal style like we have
known it for about 15-20 years now. Opener Fade away is a nice typical midtempo
Delain ish piece, but next track Blame really grabs you, because this is quite
a lovely very catchy uptempo almost melodic rock orientated tune. Strong vocals
and a tight sound make this band actually one of the better sounding Belgian
bands at the moment, so we welcome a great new band from the Benelux. Their
sound is quite huge and of course Within Tempation meets Delain is a
description that is almost impossible to avoid, but thankfully the result is
definitely of a very high level. Other highlights on their debut album
Disappear are the semi ballad Fly (featuring some of Emmelie's finest vocals),
the ultra-heavy and groovy Tool ish guitar riff driven Burn and the beautiful
Evanescence ish gothic semi-ballad Disappear. Recommended band to fans of
mentioned bands. Check out more on them at: http://solitudewithin.be/
Grand
Ultra 'Here we are' (Independent/UK Import)
Out
of Notthingham, UK comes this perfect late 1980s inspired sleazy hair metal/melodic
heavy rock band called Grand Ultra. Formed around Joe Hill - Vocals, Justin
Larner - Guitar, Stuart Wildey - Bass Guitar and Gazz Evans - Drums, this band
is definitely worth checking out a.s.a.p. Here we are is their debut album, on
which they sound like a mix between Skid Row, Faster Pussycat, Alice Cooper,
Victory (the Fernando Garcia period, especially due to the similar sounding
lead vocals) and Every Mother's Nightmare, yet with a slight modern touch. If
this was released back in 1989, then these guys would have been huge for sure,
but thanks to the revival of such real hardrock, they actually have potential
to breakthrough in current times as well. 10 songs are included in total and
without a doubt, this is a high quality band delivering memorable songs that
will please any fan of real high quality traditional classic hardrock/hair
metal. Songs like Won't let it go, Less you know and the superb uptempo melodic
heavy rocker Fade to grey are soon-to-be classic rock pieces. Sometimes they
give me the feeling of an album you want to put musically speaking right
between Skid Row's Slave to the grind and Victory's Culture killed the native.
Make sure you don't miss this band at: www.grandultra.com
The
American band Passerine brings us a lovely calm acoustic tingled and very
melodic sounding mixture of Americana, Folk, Bluegrass and SInger/Songwriter
with some great harmonyvocals that will wet the appetite of fans of First Aid
Kit, The Staves and such. The band consists of Carmela Pedicini (acoustic
guitar and vocals), David Brain (dobro),
Sara
Stovall (violin and vocals) and Doug Conroy (bass and vocals), and Harbringers
is their 3rd release. 12 tracks are included and if you're a fans of the
mentioned styles, this is definitely a recommendation. Each year we have the
Pijnackerplein Festival in Rotterdam where this kind of music can be heard a
full weekend long. Perhaps Passerine can play a concert during this festival,
because they fit right in there. Check them out at: http://passerinemusic.net/passerine/
Barry
Goudreau's Engine room 'Full steam ahead' (Independent/USA Import)
Original
Boston guitarist Barry Goudreau was part of the mega superstardom the legendary
American band Boston achieved back in the 1970s, but in 1981 he left and did a
lot of new projects, bands and solo recordings. The latest one is called Full
steam ahead, released under the moniker Barry Goudreau's Engine room. Musically
speaking this album is mostly a mix of heavy blues rock and classic rock. His
former bandmates of RTZ, Brian Maes (vocals, keys) and Steve Archibald (bass)
join him on this recording and I must say it sounds very sensational. Don't
expect Boston esque melodic stadium rock, because it is all very blues based,
yet quite close to let's say classic Free and Bad Company, with here and there
a soulful melodic rock touch as well, such as during the beautiful ballad Time.
Opener Need is pure 70s classic rock with soulful vocals and bluesy riffs, like
the already mentioned Free and Cream. Brian is a gifted singer, of whom we also
reviewed his own band Brian Maes Band sometime ago. Other highlights are Don't
stop please and Why. The absolute best song however is that one song that takes
us straight into classic AOR/Melodic Rock, which is Reason to rhyme, a
hookladen catchy tune that has similarities to Barry's 80s band Orion, RTZ and
Alias. An amazing song that takes us back to the classic 80s days and even
reveals a bit of classic Triumph and Boston of course. Of course more songs in
this style would have been welcome, but nevertheless it's great to see Barry
back to music business with this strong release that shows good new original
classic rock is still produced, yet independently. For more info drop by at: http://www.barrygoudreau.com
Steve
Tilling 'Circus' (ST Productions/Nineteen 73/UK Import)
Out
of the UK comes multi-instrumentalist Steve Tilling and it took him 5 years to
release his debut album, but the result Circus is definitely worth checking
out. ALong with guest musicians like Dave Gregory (XTC, Big Big Train), Phil
Spalding (Mike Oldfield), Johnny Warman (Peter Gabriel) and Andy Neve (Steve
Hackett), this album is a highly recommended record to anyone who likes their
progressive rock to sound fresh and modern, not too much based on instrumental
complex passages, but very song orientated, reminding of Lonely Robot, Kino, It
Bites, Frost and a bit Spock's Beard. Vocally Steve reminds me a lot of Peter
Gabriel and John Mitchell and without a doubt, we have something special here,
because it all sounds very sensational from start to finish. The huge
production and extensive booklet make it all worth it checking out and if we
have a closer look at the songs, the highlights are My degenerate mind
(excellent uptempo clever progressive melodic rocker), Stars (somehow slight
early 90s Powerpop ish style a la Jellyfish), Strings (great ballad, a bit dark
sound) and the epic progressive rocker The chosen one, which has all the
elements to be the winner of the album, with calmer parts a la Neal Morse,
melodic rocking passages a la Lonely Robot and some complexity a la Spock's
Beard. Definitely an album you don't want to miss if you're a proghead! More
info at: https://www.circu5.com/free-music/
Formed
in 2008, the Pittsburgh based band Stone Cold Killer is playing cool classic
late 1980s sleazy rock and roll in the style of Faster Pussycat, Junkyard,
Britny Fox, Tattooed Love Boys... 5 songs are on their debut EP Locked and
loaded and especially opener Book 'em Dan-O is a great dirty mean sleazy
hardrock tune in that classic 1988-1991 style. The band sounds quite raw and
edgy, with even a punky attitude, but most of all reminding of the mentioned
bands. Check them out for yourself at: https://stonecoldkiller.bandcamp.com/releases
Silhouette
'The world is flat' (Progress Records)
In
the 12 years the Dutch band Silhouette now exists, they have built up quite a
reputation in the progressive rockscene. The world is flat marks their 5th
album so far and right from the start with March of peace, the band shows we
are dealing here with some beautiful crafted 1970s inspired melodic symphonic
rock which reminds me a bit of classic Camel and Kayak. Everything sounds
crystal clear here, with a focus on strong 70s melodic harmonies and precise
relaxing guitar/keyboardwork. Back in the 1970s this would have been a major
label release for sure, but of course nowadays this kind of music can only be
found on prog orientated labels, which in this case is the Swedish label
Progress Records. Fans of Yes, Kayak, Camel and such 70s Symphonic/Progressive
Rock will absolutely love this band for sure and The world is flat might as
well be their finest moment so far. Just listen to the highlight Symphony for a
perfect moment for instance, which is a 17 minutes counting epic sympho/prog
rock anthem that captures everything that makes this genre timeless. Check out
more on this band at: http://www.silhouetteband.nl
The
American band Mutemath was formed by drummer Darren King and multi-instrumentalist/vocalist
Paul Meany back in 2002, with musicians joining off and on throughout the
years. Darren actually just left the band after recording the 5th album Play
dead and the current line-up consists now of Paul as leader, Todd Gummerman -
guitar, keyboards, synthesizer, tambourine, violin, programmer, vocals and Jonathan
Allen - bass guitar. The included music has not much to do with the alternative
rock of their earlier years, because it is filled with keyboard friendly modern
pop with high pitched vocals. The comparisons to Justin Timberlake (!!!) I read
somewhere are not surprising, because it sometimes indeed sounds in that
direction. It's not bad at all, but quite safe and soft, with a focus on
distorted keys and high pitched vocalwork that all together sometimes even
reminds me of New Order (with a slight psychedelic rock edge) when they go for
a somewhat experimental move (War) and Pet Shop Boys when they want to show
their most polished radio soft almost disco-pop sound (Placed on hold). A song
like Achilles heel for example has similarities to Prince, which might also be
a good comparison in general, because somehow somewhere you can also hear some
rock influences in the mostly hi-tech modern funky sound. It's actually hard to
really label this and perhaps next time they should go for the more band/rock
orientated sound (a la Royal Blood) instead of this slightly hi-tech
overproduced sound, because that result would be interesting to see. It's best
to have a listen for yourself here I think...
Now
here we have a really great album from a Canadian singer/songwriter called
Terra Lightfoot, who is also part of the band Dinner Belles. New mistakes is
her 3rd album so far and she is assisted here by bassist Maury LaFoy, drummer
Joel Haynes and keyboardplayer Jeff Heisholt. The music is sounding fresh and
modern, yet also reflects a lot of other influences, such as a classic late
1970s melodic poprocksound, which can be heard very clearly during the catchy
uptempo Pimball king. On the other hand during a song like Ruthless, Terra
sounds very modern, even revealing a sorta soul touch in her voice somehow,
while 1970s singer/songwriter ish pop can be heard during You get high. There's
also here and there heavy raw bluesy rock a la Joanna Shaw Taylor, Amanda
Marshall, Sass Jordan and such to be heard, like in the songs Stars over Dakota,
Slick back kid and Paradise (which has a modern rock chorus by the way).
Perhaps the most beautiful song is the rocking ballad Norma Gale, which tells
the story about a legendary Canadian singer/songwriter. I think the diversity
of this album makes it very interesting and attractive for a lot of people to
check out at. More info at: http://terralightfoot.com
Guitarist/vocalist
Anders Bodin "rocker" has already released quite a few albums in the
past and now releases a great single CD that consists of 4 tracks. Musically
speaking it is catchy classic early 80s uptempo melodic/powerpop in the style
of Bryan Adams, Kevin Lee and Phil Seymour. Songs like Roller coaster ride and
Vacation are deadly catchy and take you right back 35-40 years back in time,
sounding like new classics in this genre. Highly recommended to fans of such
melodic rock/powerpop! More at: http://bodinrocker.se/
Out
of California comes singer/songwriter Michelle Lewis, who brings us beautiful
calmer peaceful melodic singer/songwriter pop with the melancholy of the 1970s,
yet still sounding fresh and up-to-date. 10 songs are included and from start
to finish this is one of those records you can put on and just listen to
without being distracted that it takes a weird twist. There's a bit of
country/soft folk touch also to be heard and I already saw comparisons to Jewel
here and there, but then you might as well mention Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes,
Lene Marlin (very much) and Jennifer Paige. On the other hand, Michelle is a
little less commercial and very much acoustic driven. Anyway, well done and
sounding very nice all throughout the album. Check it out for yourself at: https://michellelewis.bandcamp.com/album/the-parts-of-us-that-still-remain
Renegade
'The story of my life' (Renegade Sounds/Canada Import)
Canadian
AOR band Renegade returns with a new 6 tracks counting mini-CD titled The story
of my life. Musically speaking they continue their 80s Canadian AOR/Poprock
sound a la Loverboy, Haywire, Glass Tiger, Bryan Adams and such. The songs are
mostly midtempo based with catchy hooks and memorable choruses, along with
lovely soaring guitarsolos and superb lead vocals by Marty Sippola, who sounds
like Mike Reno. It can't get any better than this if you're looking for classic
Canadian 80s AOR/Melodic Poprock, but it never sounds dated. Especially the
song Don't want to think about it anymore sounds really amazing, an incredible
catchy laid-back melodic tune that puts a smile on your face. It's only a pity
the 6 short songs are over in a minute, because you definitely want to hear
more. Make sure not to miss this one at: http://renegadeproductions.net/renegade_cd/renegade_cd.html
Kevin Lee
& The Kings 'Sticks and stones' (Sigus Records/USA Import)
The
Chicago based Kevin Lee and the Lonesome City Kings rose to fame and fortune
very quickly in the early 1990s with the release of their debut album Restless.
In a time when internet wasn't available, I got a tape of this album back then
from a friend and I must say I absolutely loved the catchy melodic rock of this
major label (MCA Records) released record, which also featured Survivor main
man Frankie Sullivan. It took some time, but eventually I got in touch with
Kevin many years later and reviewed some of his solo records and now he has a
great new record out with The Kings, so the Lonesome part is dropped. Without a
doubt, we get to hear classic traditional American Melodic Rock/AOR/Powerpop on
Sticks and stones, with a nice mixture of uptempo rockers like the superb One
day at a time, Hold on to yourself tonight and Alone, but also midtempo/semi-ballad
driven material like the beautiful Tell the truth. It all reminds me of a cross
between 80s Bryan Adams, Loverboy, Rick Springfield, Danny Wilde, Cheap Trick
and such. The full band consists of Kevin Lee - Lead Vocals, Guitar, Michael
Kurtz - guitar, backing vocals, Erik Strommer - Drums and Patti Prendergast -
bass, backing vocals. Not a single dull moment can be found here, so this is
highly recommended to the fans of mentioned acts. Don't miss this album,
because it is clearly bringing us high class all-American rock and roll in the
classic rock tradition, so focusing on catchy melodies, hooks, strong vocalwork
and a tight rocksound. More info at: http://www.kevinleeonline.com/
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