I love the days after putting out the Best of the year lists when I get deluged with comments and e-mails telling me what I’ve missed. the truth is that The Rockpit gets sent about 15000 albums a year, I get to listen to about 1000 of those and I get to review about 200, but with so much music I know I will always miss a few gems especially if as in this case I didn’t get sent the album in the first place.
If you like your Rock silky smooth with impossibly melodic refrains and everything seemingly clean and white then this is the album for you – from the Glenn Frey meets Toto slickness of opener ‘Misguided Love’ and the catchier Journey-like ‘Be the Believer’ that follows you know where you stand with this release.
Indeed if you loved the three previous outings from this band then you’ll love this one too with singer Lars Säfsund on top form as is Robert Saul in his orchestrations. The only real difference is that this record seems weighted a little more in favour of uptempo AOR than the lighter, airier West Coast feel of previous outings, though its a gentle incline rather than a wholehearted jump.
In all honesty you can pretty much land the needle anywhere here if you love those two though there are definite highlights – for me they are ‘This Isn’t Love’ replete with Jim Peterik lyrics and Vince DiCola on keys, it’s a song that plenty going on and is driven my those wonderful keys,not your standard AOR; then there’s the Arena sized anthem ‘What You Want From Me’ and the rockier Foreigner stylings of closer ‘Let Me Dream’.
Wonderful stuff as expected.
Track listing: 1. Misguided Love 2. Be The Believer 3. Another Night 4. This Isn’t Love (ft. Vince DiCola) 5. Gotta Get Out 6. Come Home 7. If I Could Fly 8. Destined To Survive 9. Scars To Prove It 10. What You Want From Me 11. Let Me Dream