Boston’s self-titled debut album is rightly heralded as a melodic rock classic. The combination of Brad Delp’s soaring voice, a wall of vocal harmonies and the distinctive guitar work of Tom Scholz has allowed the album to (almost) transcend the ages. While it doesn’t necessarily sound timeless, it certainly still sounds like an album recorded some time after its mid-70s origins, such is its sharpness. The band’s next works (1978’s ‘Don’t Look Back’ and 1986’s ‘Third Stage’) are almost as good, thanks to Scholtz and his obsession with perfection. After a long delay, the band returned in the mid 90s for ‘Walk On’, a decent selection of pomp-driven songs with Orion vocalist Fran Cosmo doing a grand job of replacing Brad Delp on vocals. It mightn’t have quite been up there the Boston of ’76, but then it didn’t pretend to be – it was a good enough record in its own way. From this point on, very little was heard from the Boston camp until the release of ‘Corporate America’ (featuring both Delp and Cosmo alongside Sholz) in 2002. It was a record which gathered mixed reviews. Too much time had passed.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
ANGELICA – Thrive
Since this debut record from Angelica Rylin pays homage to her childhood heroes Robin Beck and Ann Wilson, it’ll come as no surprise that the album, therefore, ploughs a well-worn furrow of melodic rock. With Frontiers Records regular Daniel Flores handling production duties/drums/song-writing and other regulars Alessandro Del Vecchio and Robert Sall also having a hand in proceedings, the whole thing feels like an all-chums-together affair. There’s nothing wrong with that per se, but obviously the combination of a familiar team and a rigid musical blueprint makes ‘Thrive’ feel wholly predictable. So, given that this album breaks absolutely no new musical ground whatsoever, why should you check out Angelica, when there is so much other rock music out there vying for your attention?
MUTINY MUTINY – Don’t Quit Your Day Job
In 2011, Seattle post-punk/noise rock trio Mutiny Mutiny self-released their debut album ‘Constellation’. Between the angular noises and bass heavy groove there lied a collection of surprisingly accessible numbers, cut from various classic influences including Sonic Youth, Slint and Fugazi. Although using a similar blueprint for their second release ‘Don’t Quit Your Day Job’, it’s immediately clear the band have grown in the intervening couple of years. There are a couple of moments where the band obviously falters – a natural phenomenon with regards to making a second record – but, thankfully, the missteps are few.
BENEDICTUM – Obey
Benedictum’s third album ‘Dominion’ (released in 2010) presented a huge step forward for the US power metal outfit. Their first release for Frontiers Records afforded the band a bigger budget than their previous and Benedictum seemed to relish this new beginning. While the lyrics left much to be desired, musically it wasn’t a complete loss, including some impressive riffs throughout, bolstered by more than a few chunky drum parts. ‘Dominion’ wasn’t an especially great record, but by comparison, 2013’s ‘Obey’ is a crushing disappointment.
GLENN ROBINSON – Modern Mistakes
As ex-drummer with The Prozacs and various other US power pop/punk bands, Glenn Robinson has worked hard over the years. In addition to drumming with various acts and supplying guitars and vocals to his own 90s covers outfit, he’s also found time to kick off a solo career. His 2013 full length ‘Modern Mistakes’ is the kind of record that deserves to push him towards a wider audience; there’s absolutely no filler material and his abilities to bring variety to punk-based arrangements puts many similar acts to shame. Perhaps most impressive, though, is the fact that almost everything on the album is played by Robinson himself, with other guests only stepping in for the odd guitar solo or a few backing vocals here and there.