There is a vaguely eastern sounding opening to the opening track of Starchase’s ‘Brand New Day’ that is completely redundant when what the album offers is so simple and so assured – a stack of great uplifting, flying high energetic smooth but spirited Melodic Rock.
Strangely second track ‘I Want You’ also adds a few vaguely eastern bars before opening up into a vaguely dreamy pomp rock meets melodic rock slow burner. It’s a nice song that counterpoints a great sing along chorus with a softer verse but you feel ‘I Want You’ the second track needed just as much bite as the first before drifting into more interesting territories. Indeed third-up ‘Say You Love Me’ may have made a better second track especially these days when attention spans are so short. “Say You Love Me’ takes that simple but effective Melodic Rock template and makes it shine and soar. Track listing quibbles aside, this is a very solid album for lovers of Rock’s more melodic side.
Hailing from Melbourne and made up of members of The Radio Sun (Jason Old excels on vocals), Safire and Someone Else’s Life, this is a band that is firmly melodic in focus with keys as upfront as guitars.
The remainder of the album shines just as brightly too with the ballad ‘I Won’t Wait’ standing out and taking on epic proportions; ‘Broken Heart’ is another track that really sticks, light and summery with a great modern feel. Great harmonies, big hooks – a band well worth checking out.
