Eleven years after the release of their well received ‘Wings of Love’ album, the bulk of Find Me’s ‘Nightbound’ sees the much loved AOR band often sticking to a tried and tested brand of melodic rock. A couple of tracks deviate from the formula to explore different avenues of classic rock, but it’s fair to say that this fifth album plays very much to the fan. Drawing influence from bands like Survivor – whose Jim Peterik scores co-writing credits – and more modern melodic rock bands like Lionheart, the material has no real care for fashion, but what it does, it does brilliantly. So much of the strength in the band’s sound is due to vocalist Robbie LaBlanc (sometime of Blanc Faces) who possesses one of the best melodic rock voices of his generation. When you have someone like Robbie on board, capable of summoning the power of Joe Lynn Turner circa 1985 and the huge melodic sounds of a peak Dave Bickler or Steve Overland, there’s little point in trying to branch out or add new twists to a classic rock backdrop – his huge voice handles the 80s influenced sounds so perfectly.
As fans might expect, LaBlanc is in great vocal shape throughout this album, but his musical partner Daniel Flores also brings his own brand of melodic charm on numbers which really benefit from a bright keyboard sound. The opening number ‘Never Be Alone’ pretty much finds Find Me in a comfort zone, and in some ways, benefits from that. Following a busy intro where wibbling keys underscore a chunky guitar, the verse drops into a more user friendly 80s AOR sound, allowing LaBlanc more room to stretch his vocal. It takes all of a minute before everything sounds great, but its the point where the chorus hits where the number really grabs the attention. A huge harmony filled hook falls somewhere between Blanc Faces and the more AOR centric moments of the Snakes In Paradise debut from 1994, and despite a slightly compressed production sound – typical of so much of the Frontiers Records output at the time of this release – it’s very much the kind of thing that fans of the genre will love. Opting for even more of a classic 80s sound, ‘I See You In Everyone’ stokes up the bell-like keyboard sounds and shares a spacious verse where Robbie adopts more of a theatrical style. Via a Survivor-tastic pre-chorus, everything arrives at another massive sounding hook where a multi-layered vocal chews through some clichéd rhymes, but at the same time, still sounds impressive thanks to LaBlanc’s committed performance. There’s a moment where it feels like things might become a little more impressive when guitarist Andi Kravljaca (of Seventh Wonder fame) throws out a few bluesier notes as if to begin a huge guitar solo, but following his warm-up, he stops dead and the (admittedly great) chorus returns. This was a natural place for a fine, old school solo; to tease one and then not deliver seems a little…odd. It doesn’t stop this being a great track, however, and if you’re able to bend your ears past the weightier sounds of the climax, you’ll hear Andi dropping in a flowing counter melody that almost makes good for the lack of expected lead work elsewhere.
Taking a great AOR title in hand, ‘Walking Through The Fire’ offers an even purer melodic rock sound – if that’s possible at this point – and against a solid mid tempo, a wall of harmonies tell of “throwing caution to the wind” at “the crossroads of desire”. Lyrically, it’s pure fromage, but as before, thanks to the band’s brimming self-belief and strong musicianship it works brilliantly for the style, and the same can be said for ‘Savage Blue’, a melodic rocker with huge vocals and a pulsing rhythm that makes everything sound instantly like something from the Terry Brock solo catalogue. You’ll find plenty of other stuff that sounds similar on previous Find Me records, but Andi’s choppy but melodic guitar work and Robbie’s vocal still manage to sound inspiring together, and the track’s busy lead guitar break where Palace-like flourishes are dropped into semi-bluesy sounds helps to create one of the album’s musical highlights.
In terms of guitar work, Andi provides more standout moments throughout the intro of ‘Can’t Wait Here Anymore’ when he delivers a lead guitar sound that falls somewhere between Palace’s melodic rock works and Jeff Beck’s ‘Guitar Shop’. It isn’t long before Find Me revert to type and hit the listener with more huge sounding AOR, of course, but with Flores adding some of the album’s pompiest sounding melodic fills and LaBlanc clearly loving the opportunity to share an absolutely booming vocal on a catchy hook, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s the kind of tune that extant fans will earmark as a favourite somewhere around the second listen.
The really enjoyable ‘Speechless’ rocks out a little more thanks to an injection of speed, and this allows bassist Johnny Trobro more of an opportunity to add a punchier sound in places, but unfortunately, thanks to the end mix, his best work is often drowned out by a huge vocal and busy keys. Regarding those keys, it’s actually great to hear Flores cutting a little looser in places and his speed driven moments are the perfect counterpoint to a chorus where a few higher register harmonies add a slightly different feel to the bulk of Find Me’s work. Elsewhere, the title cut brings a dirtier chug to the fore, actually sounding very different to the Find Me norm, and these moodier strains sit at the heart of an altogether grander sounding workout. This really comes into its own during an impressive instrumental break when the band’s typical sounds are eschewed in favour of a very retro sounding Eastern melody, much closer to Rainbow, or something buried within the deep cuts of Yngwie Malmsteen’s ‘Odyssey’ LP. The slightly less optimistic tones also allow for a few more pomp driven keys and a bigger drum sound (both courtesy of Flores), and some terrific playing from Kravljaca. LaBlanc treats everything like business as usual, taking the lyric and sharing it with a huge, optimistic AOR tone, but the contrast here actually makes it rather interesting.
Those looking for something else in a chunkier mould should make a beeline for ‘Distant Lovers’ which opens with a slightly heavier guitar sound, and presents bigger sounding keyboard which is used effectively but sparingly throughout. Taking this opportunity to rock out once more, there are moments where LaBlanc occasionally sounds like Stefan Berggren without the Swedish accent, and Kravljaca cuts a little looser in the lead department, but the fact that Find Me manage to achieve this without losing too much of their melodic heart is vital. In short, this track is a top notch melodic rocker. In closing, the tempo is increased a little more for the brilliant ‘The Time Has Come’ which taps into a much rockier sound, but without losing any of Find Me’s melodic elements. There are moments within the chorus and musical bridges that call back to Journey fare like ‘Be Good To Yourself’, but the harmonic verses lean further towards more of a European sound and a few of this band’s own works. Although this is over familiar in some ways, it conveys a real energy and LaBlanc’s love of the old school rock sound really shines through, giving a strong album an even stronger finish.
Aside from the title cut coming a little more out of a moody left field, ‘Nightbound’ doesn’t always deviate from previous Find Me work, but for fans, this certainly will not be an issue. This album brings a set of songs in a classic, melodic style which really sells Find Me’s combined talents. Right from first listen, you’ll discover half a dozen tracks here that stack up strongly against previous recordings, and in time, a couple of the deeper cuts will certainly resonate. Like the previous Find Me albums, this certainly isn’t fashion conscious, but in terms of capturing some very talented AOR/melodic rock players on a solid set of songs, it does a fine job indeed.
By the CD here.
September 2024