Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews

TALON – III

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Despite gaining reasonable accolades from the melodic rock community for their previous releases, in terms of stability, Californian rockers Talon had far from settled beginnings.  2011’s ‘III’ is a third attempt in more ways than one: not only is it their third album, but also begins an association between the band and a third record label.  Three record labels for three releases isn’t very good odds. Not only that, but this release also marks the arrival of another new lead vocalist (also their third over the course of three releases).  If nothing else, they get full marks for believing in themselves and not throwing in the towel at a time when other bands would have just given up.

On their strongest cuts, Talon is a band which delivers good, fist-pumping 80s rock. One of the album’s best numbers ‘You Don’t Know Me’ pitches Shawn Palata’s reasonably decent vocal against a backing harmony to achieve a result guaranteed to thrill a proportion of retro-rock fans.  Its riff, too, is of the simple chugging kind – and it’s often with such musical simplicity Talon excel.  Even better is the big sweeping solo, played with a great clarity by Jim Kee.  The keyboards are very low in the mix; sometime Takara man Eric Ragno deserves to be heard much more clearly here, even though his contributions are purely for colour.  The driving rock of ‘Walk Away’ ups the ante with the choppy riffs providing a decent basis for Pelata’s voice which, too, turns up a notch in an attempt to not be outdone by the general riffage.  If you imagine the most melodic end of Yngwie Malmsteen’s work with Mark Boals on the ‘Trilogy’ album crossed with the Heaven’s Edge debut, you’ll get a hint of what this track sounds like.  The chorus is relatively strong, but it’s not as strong as the guitar fills.  Before too long, it should be obvious to most that Jim Kee is Talon’s real star.

Eric Ragno gets time in the spotlight on the mid-paced ‘When Will I’, a track frontloaded with a pompy keyboard intro.  Beyond that, it’s business as usual with meaty mid-paced guitar riffs, of course, but it’s another example of Talon’s strongest side.  Pelata is in particularly good voice throughout, the solo is short but of a good standard and there’s also a rare example of bassist Phil Keller being high in the end mix.  It’s another solid, more than commendable effort, which is more than can be said for a couple of ballady efforts.  ‘Brothers’ offers too much schmaltz and treads the well worn path of a soldier’s tale of loss while remaining musically mediocre and ‘Maybe One Day’ is a predictable “contractual obligation” style acoustic sap.  Yes, it could be said that Pelata is in good voice on these numbers, but they’re both blandness personified.

‘Take You All The Way’ features a lead vocal by special guest Jeff Scott Soto.  As any self-respecting melodic rock fan knows, JSS is a legend.  Almost everything he’s lent his voice to – at least since his post-Malmsteen days – has been of a superb standard.  Sadly, he doesn’t appear in such great voice here, but the material isn’t that great either.  Since the song is written in Talon’s style – and possibly in the right key for Pelata – Soto’s performance is a little too waily.  It’s nowhere near awful, of course, but he is capable of far better.  Jim Kee more than makes up for the song’s weak points by offering at least two fantastic solos.  With ‘The Last Time’, you won’t get any great surprises from Talon: the key-changes are text-book, the featured solo is more than suitable for its purpose and the vocal harmonies are quite strong.  Despite their best efforts, though, there’s nothing which sticks out here in the long-term.  Like a good chunk of the album, it achieves those goals it sets out to achieve, but there’s a sense that Talon’s core audience are made up from those narrow-minded folks who listen to AOR/melodic rock…and enjoy nothing else.

The disc closes with a cover of the Jefferson Starship classic ‘Jane’.  Naturally, Pilata is no vocal match for Mickey Thomas, but looking beyond that, it’s a rather fun cover.  The riffs are obviously meatier than those ever delivered by any of Starship’s incarnations, while those riffs are topped by a great set of stabbing keys, which obviously are essential if anyone is to cover this tune properly.  It manages to bring a tiny amount of Talon’s melodic metal edge to the table without ever being disrespectful to Jefferson’s 1979 hit.  And, once again, it’s nice to hear Ragno out front and not buried beneath the guitars.

Overall, Talon volume three is a solid but undemanding record.  There are more than reasonable choruses and riffs scattered throughout the album and the band are all more than competent players, particularly guitarist Jim Kee.  Talon’s ‘III’ might just have enough charm to attract a reasonable amount of fans with it’s over familiarity.  For others, though, that just might not be enough to set Talon apart from the hundreds of other second division melodic rock bands releasing albums via the Escape Music and Frontiers Records stables.

December 2011

REGURGITATOR – Superhappyfuntimesfriends

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As with so many of their peers, Regurgitator haven’t made much of an impact outside their native Australia.  However, after years of hard work, half a dozen full album releases and a bunch of singles, they’ve become cult heroes among the alternative community.  They’ve even secured support slots with Beck, Red Hot Chili Peppers and The Prodigy on their Aussie tours.

Regurgitator’s seventh album, ‘Superhappyfuntimesfriends’, presents a mix of jangly indie-rock, pop punk and occasional electronica vibes, served with a frivolous and sometimes uncompromising attitude.   There are various words which best describe the album, but if it were best described by one, that one word would be inconsistent.

That’s not to say that it doesn’t have some good moments hidden among its messier elements, of course.  In fact, ‘Into The Night’ could well be one of 2011’s best individual tracks.  With a blend of electronic pop and sullen vocal, it’s the kind of track US band The Killers should record, if only they weren’t so horribly bland (and possessing such middling levels of talent).  It may be down to Regurgitator’s country of origin, but there’s a more than welcome hint of The Church during this number.  This could partly be the use of some very 80s keyboards, but it’s just as likely to be its slightly underwhelming vocal style – delivered in a way which would make Steve Kilbey proud.  Electronic treatments also provide the heart of ‘Devil Spell’, a short and wordless, yet brilliant piece; full of breakbeats and loops, it makes the band sound like The Go! Team reworked by Beck Hansen.  Simple but effective, never outstaying its welcome, it’s a number which works best with the volume properly cranked.

Most of Regurgitator’s other great moments on ‘Superhappy’ aren’t as reliant on retro pop or electronic features.  Their pop-punk tendencies – present on tracks like ‘No Show’ and ‘Uncontactable’ – prove them to be an outfit with great energy (and this also explains why they supported the much-missed CIV on tour).  On the former, a tuneful vocal is well suited to the bouncing riff, while the main hook of “it’s a no show!” is an effective one.  You’ll have heard a lot of similar material throughout the 90s and beyond, but Regurgitator more than hold their own in this department, making it a great three minute number designed to clear some cobwebs.  Due to a slightly more off kilter chord structure, ‘Uncontactable’ could potentially be the more interesting of the pair, though still doesn’t veer too far from punk pop.  A mid section featuring a phone call also demonstrates a silly sense of humour.  Overall, energy plus a reasonable hook more than carries this number off with ease.  ‘All Fake Everything’ is best described as “oddball”.  At first, it presents itself in the Ben Folds vein: a gentle-ish piano ballad intercut with jarring bad language.  Just as you think you’ve got it sussed, it’s all change…The second half of the track is loaded with fuzzy bass and a big groove, dressed up with rough-round-the-edges rap (a la Beastie Boys) – in short, a world away from where it began.  It might just work.  Even if you decide it doesn’t, at least you can’t say Regurgitator don’t kept you on your toes!

Moving things into more accessible territory, ‘Punk Mum’ is an upbeat indie-rocker with a throwaway feel, saved by some great bottom end on the bass and almost marching band drumming in places.  It’s maybe not as good as the likes of ‘No Show’, but manages to be great fun nonetheless.  ‘Outer Space’ brings some retro sounding, almost new wavish edges.  A strong and simple arrangement plays host to some muted guitar chords which recalls the best stuff by The Cars.  However, it’s downhill from there – with such a strong tune, it’s a pity Regurgitator couldn’t have backed up this good tune with a memorable hook of any kind.

Although there are some top tunes, ‘Superhappyfuntimesfriends’ suffers a little from too much filler material. As with any hit and miss albums, there’s bound to be stuff which passes the listener by without making a great impression.  In addition to a couple of such numbers, Regurgitator fill other parts of the album with near pointlessness.  For example: ‘Game Over Man’ fuses 8-bit computer noises with hardcore punk to create a thirty seconds distraction, while ‘D.M.T.42’ spends almost two minutes doing precious little. There’s a Daft Punk style electronic loop, a fuzzy noise and then a little shoegaze thrown in for good measure (which all adds up to a band definitely trying too hard) and ‘8PM’ is a short lo-fi acoustic piece which could have been a Smudge b-side.  None of these offerings reach this band’s true potential.

Given Regurgitator’s inconsistencies and attempts at squishing so many styles onto one release, it’s much better to approach ‘Superhappyfuntimesfriends’ as an individual collection of songs as opposed to a complete album.  Individually, you’ll certainly find some great tracks here, though it’s possible that these standout moments will vary wildly from listener to listener – and depend entirely on mood.

You can download the album on a “pay what you want” basis from the widget below.

November 2011

LONGBEARD – The Tide

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Not so much a band as a project for multi-talented writer/musician/producer David Burns, Longbeard’s debut EP by California band pulls together various influences.  Augmented by Shane Bordeau on bass and saxophones, Burns’s compositions feature a whole bunch of electronic elements, but Longbeard is not really an electronic outit, since such sounds are often blended with a cinematic indie-pop feel.

Due to a very commercial edge, ‘On Our Way’ provides a strong opening number (barring the short intro piece).  The music itself has a very multi-layered feel and thanks to great production it’s easy to hear the separation between each of the elements. The guitars jangle pleasantly and the bass and drums have a strong presence which never dominates.  The best feature here is the vocal, which is high and breathy in the lead role, while processed and treated in various looped backing parts.  It may be the best feature, but it’s not especially original; you’ll have heard various other bands tinker with similar musical soundscapes throughout the late 00’s.  For an easy comparison, it’s not unlike Team Me’s more restrained offerings.  It might be fair to say that since Team Me raised the bar with regard to vocal/choir-led indie pop, it’s not as good.  However, for what it offers, it’s still very enjoyable.  The vocal arrangements are also dominant throughout the title cut, where Longbeard tinker with Arcade Fire style wanderings.  Placing the vocal against backwards electronic loops helps round out the overall sound, but in terms of actual music, this isn’t as well-rounded as ‘On Our Way’, despite a few strong moments.

‘Now We Are’ finds a space within a very summery groove.  Programmed drums lead the way, and over the course of five minutes, the collection of ringing guitars, warm bass, heavily filtered vocals and synths carry the listener far away.  Imagine parts of The Avalanches’ ‘Since I Met You’ reworked and smoothed out by Royksopp and you’ll start to get the picture.  It builds slowly and gets a little busier as it moves along, but never becomes too intrusive or particularly tiresome.  Towards the end, rhythm guitars flesh out the sound and stay the course until the inevitable fade out.  With regard to electronic based music that’s more active than mere ambient noise but enjoyable in most surroundings, this is a great example of how to get it right.  In contrast, ‘And Now I Know’ eschews electronic leanings in favour of guitar based indie-rock.  The rhythm guitars are relentless throughout, while lead guitars provide not always tune-based squeals and vibrato.  As with ‘On Our Way’ all vocals are multi-tracked and over processed – often repeating the one line “I’ve seen it all and now I know”, sometimes forward, sometimes backwards.  Also – again like ‘On Our Way’ – more than slight comparisons with Arcade Fire are evident.

Recorded on a reasonable budget and by a man who clearly knows his way around a studio ‘The Tide’ sounds great for a DIY release. Comparing ‘And Now I Know’ with ‘Now We Are’, it could be the work of two different bands; which side of Longbeard’s work  you’ll prefer is purely down to personal taste.  Due to a lack of originality, Longbeard’s work is good rather than great, but each of the four main tracks from ‘The Tide’ has something to offer the potential listener.  The EP is worth investigating even if only for ‘Now We Are’.

You can download the EP on a “pay what you want” basis from the widget below.

September 2011

NICKELBACK – Here And Now

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After their breakthrough hit ‘How You Remind Me’, Nickelback trod a safe path, trotting out a few more albums of solid post-grunge tunes.  In 2008, teaming up – at least in part – with legendary producer Mutt Lange, the band released ‘Dark Horse’, an album on which Chad Kroeger and co sounded awesome in terms of studio crunch.  Packing a bigger punch than ever, it’s a pity to say the least that ‘Dark Horse’ was ultimately spoilt – almost beyond redemption – by Kroeger’s appalling, very sexist “party-hard” lyrical stance.

Much like ‘Dark Horse’, lyrics aside, 2011’s ‘Here and Now’ features a couple of cracking tunes.  Never was this any more evident than on ‘This Means War’, a juggernaut of a rock song with a hugely unsubtle riff to match. A hugely expensive production job really sharpens the edges on a heavy, slightly downtuned riff which grabs the listener by the neck from the word go.  Beyond the riff, Nickelback offer more musical goodies on this opening statement – the bass is about as solid as it gets, and the lead vocal comes with a ton of grit.  There’s a reasonable chorus too; maybe not as instant as few of the band’s radio-staples, but it’s one which suits the uncompromising nature of the material in hand.  It’s one of Nickelback’s heaviest tunes and one which proves them a force to be reckoned with.  Drinking song ‘Bottoms Up’, too, offers a fabulous – if rather simplistic – riff, decent solo and rousing chorus.  It’s slightly lighter than ‘This Means War’, but still about as subtle as a sledgehammer.  It may sound a little like a ‘Dark Horse’ leftover, but it’s one of ‘Here and Now’s better numbers. Based on this pair of tunes, Nickelback really ought to consider wielding their heavier tendencies more often.   Despite going in with all guns blazing, going beyond these first couple of songs, the cracks – somewhat predictably – begin to appear.

Three years after ‘Dark Horse, you’d hope that Chad Kroeger had got his sexual hang-ups out of his system, but it appears that – at least on occasion – very little has changed.  On ‘Midnight Queen’ he trots out such bilge as “She my midnight queen / she’s gonna lick my pistol clean” and “Lay that body on her bottom and dump that salt on her hips / I was lyin’ when I told her that I’m only gonna  liquor tonight”– lyrics so unashamedly awful, they could rival ‘Dark Horse’’s indelible imagery of being ridden like a tractor and sex-games with jelly.  Still, if Chad Kroeger insists on getting his lyrics from KISS’s dustbin, should we have expected any different?  It’s a shame such vulgarity spoils a reasonable musical arrangement, with another fantastic sounding bottom end from Mike Kroeger’s bass…

A badly arranged piece, ‘Kiss It Goodbye’ would have benefitted no end from having a more danceable groove, but it’s so, so laboured that it achieves nothing beyond about thirty seconds in. The chorus makes no real impression either and the verses lumber past like they’re being dragged forcibly.  This is so un-natural – even by previous Nickelback standards – it makes the kind of lightweight radio-fodder of ‘When We Stand Together’ sound half decent.  Sounding like something from any number of Nickelback albums, the latter typifies the kind of thing the band could have written in their sleep.  The electric guitars mesh politely with the acoustics, while Chad tries his best to sound like he’s not just going through the motions with dollar signs in his eyes.  A simple “yeah, yeah, yeah” on the chorus screams hit; for those who love Nickelback, it’s commercial sheen will be appealing…but for the band’s many detractors, it just represents yet another voyage into safe radio territory .  If you’re not a fan, you’ll hate this song as much as you probably hate ‘Rockstar’ or ‘How You Remind Me’.

Of the band’s soft side ‘Don’t Ever Let It End’ celebrates good times over a marching beat, with an occasional hint of new-country.  It’s a better example of the band’s instantly accessible side; the melodies are strong, the chorus stronger still.  Although you’ll have heard similar styled material from the band many times, this track is one of ‘Here and Now’s shining lights.  ‘Lullaby’, meanwhile, does exactly what it says on the tin.  Like ‘When We Stand Together’, the blend of electric and acoustic guitars is textbook Nickelback, except here they’re augmented by occasional piano.  Old curly-head does his best to sound sensitive – as sensitive as one is able with the assistance of autotune, of course – while musically the rest of the band settles for hugely predictable stadium rock, lighters in the air balladry.  It would be wrong to say this was objectionable by any standards, but you’ll have heard far better from many other rock bands…including Nickelback.

Has there ever been a more frustrating band? Based on the kind of riffs which drive ‘This Means War’ and ‘Bottoms Up’, Nickelback could be great…but instead of concentrating on such riff-driven awesomeness, they insist on filling huge chunks of their albums with relatively boring drivel or loading up their songs with lyrical crassness.  It’s a criminal waste of potential talent from all concerned.  The best bits of ‘Here and Now’ are fantastic, but as always with Nickelback, they’re few and far between.

November 2011

CROSSFADE – Secret Love

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In 2004, Crossfade’s debut album, ‘White On Blue’ was extremely well received by melodic rock fans and critics. Although Swedish, the band’s music celebrated the late 70s and early 80s sounds of American westcoast music, with a particularly strong nod to the styles set out by Toto’s earlier works. Joining guitarist Lars Hallbäck and keyboard player Richard Stenström, renowned melodic rock vocalist Göran Edman completed the core of the band’s line-up. Having normally been associated with harder rock styles, often in a very Scandinavian style, Crossfade’s smoother edges allowed Edman to really show off his range as a vocalist, making an album which more than deserved the praise it received.

Seven years in the making, Crossfade’s second release, ‘Secret Love’ picks up where ‘White On Blue’ left off, with Edman, Hallbäck and Stenström joined by session players Per and Sven Lindstrom (bass and drums respectively), with Wotjek Goral on saxes. Following a sax intro, the band launch head-on into their opening number ‘A Wonderful Illusion’ which borrows a great amount of style from Toto and other westcoast luminaries Airplay along the way. The guitar playing is smooth and very tasteful and the overall arrangement shows a great tightness, while Edman proves strong vocally. A mid section offers some great orchestration, with the band hinting that they could be capable of flying off on a slightly jazzy tangent. They never do, however, preferring instead to keep things focused on songs rather than muso-based wanderings. This is a very strong opening number on all fronts, with a strong sense of melody, helped immensely by a hooky chorus fleshed out with female harmonies.

That sets the mood for the bulk of the disc, although if anything, the title track moves even farther into the late 70s/early 80s westcoast vibe. Led by a fluid bass, augmented by tinkling keys, the song plays host to another decent chorus and even better playing: guitar leads which would make Steve Lukather proud provide some good moments, but they aren’t ever as impressive as the track’s bass-lines. High in the end mix, Per Lindstrom sets a strong basis for the rest of the band to work around; his bass so often pivotal to this band’s best work. Another bevvy of female voices fills a chorus, over which Edman’s lead is possibly stronger than before. The slightly funky arrangement lends itself well to the instrumental sections; something never more obvious than on the instrumental play out, where Hallbäck finds a great space with his guitar leads.

Slightly soulier in places, ‘Heart of a Hero’ presents a shuffling arrangement. With that bass at the centre yet again, there’s a key difference here in that a harmonica often takes a dominant role over the keys and guitars. There are Crossfade’s usual musical features in abundance, of course: on this track, during the slightly more upbeat moments, the mood is right for a handful of top-notch guitar leads and a slightly ugly keyboard solo. Yes, that keyboard sound could be described as dated, but it’s perfectly in keeping with the “1982 time-capsule” so many of these tunes sound like they’ve culled from. Not to labour a point but, once again, if you love Toto, Jay Graydon and perhaps a little Bill Champlin, there’s plenty to enjoy here. Fusing a smooth AOR vibe with an almost reggae pulse from the keyboards, ‘In My Mind’ gets off to a slightly wobbly start. As such, it could have been this album’s weak link, but a killer chorus makes up for the verse’s slightly off-kilter nature. It doesn’t actually anything you haven’t heard before from Crossfade at this point, but Edman is in particular fine voice, while an occasional twin guitar sound during the featured solo adds a slight edge. Judged on chorus alone, this represents lots of Crossfade’s strengths.

‘Waiting For a Miracle’ is an extended arrangement which really finds its feet during a lengthy instrumental passage, utilising a muted trumpet as its lead voice. Leading up to those moments, however, it’s business as usual: Edman stretches his vocal to its limit – though, sounding like the consummate professional he never resorts to over-singing anything to make an impression – while the rest of the band offer great performances, be they vibrato guitar leads, jazzy basswork or even jazzier pianos. It may be a little too smooth jazz oriented for the AOR purists, but for those approaching this album from a classic westcoast perspective it’s surely one of the album’s most essential listens.
The only time Crossfade breaks away from their beloved westcoast sound is during the atmospheric instrumental ‘Borrowdale’, a track which appears here as both a full length number and reprise. Featuring a vibrato-filled lead guitar smoothly played over a blanket of eighties synths, this owes a huge debt to Jeff Beck (in particular, parts of his ‘Guitar Shop’ from 1989). It shows Hallbäck off as a wonderful guitarist, with a great tone to his work, even when pushed outside his usual AOR and westcoast boundaries. It may be the odd man out here, musically speaking, but it’s still far better than anything you could ever consider filler material.

Although it’s slightly rockier nature in a couple of places means that Crossfade’s ‘Secret Love’ is not quite as perfect as the 2010 debut from State Cows, this album still presents something immensely enjoyable in its musical field. It could be accused of being a little Toto obsessed, but when was that ever a bad thing?! This is a superb second album from Crossfade, one which fans will consider well worth the seven year wait.

November 2011

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