Originally this started with Jonas Foss (vocals, guitars, keys) and Tobias Andersson (keys, guitars) just writing some songs together, which in turn led to them recording a dozen or so. It was at this point that they realised that to really make it work they needed to bring in some other guys, so Torbjorn Brogren (bass) and Olle Rodehn (drums) signed up. Of course, now that they were a band they needed to totally re-record everything and then look for a record deal, with UK based melodic rock specialists Escape Music heading the pack and releasing this album in January 2013. Khalil Turk and Barrie Kirtley have long had a reputation of being able to pick up some great bands, and this is yet another fine addition to their roster.
Some bands seem to forget that the very last word in AOR is ‘rock’, literally, and they consign themselves to anaemic and banal music that they feel is what is required. These guys have taken the influences of bands like Talisman, Bon Jovi and Europe and created something that is extremely melodic with harmonies and hooks, but there is an underlying roughness that shows that while they fully understand the need for strong tunes and performances these guys are first and foremost a rock band. The guys are Swedish, and it shows as they definitely have much more in common with European melodic rock bands than many American, as the latter often forget to plug their guitars in, or at least turn them up, while the European bands just want to get out there and party.
This is a bouncy, fun, melodic rock album with loads of hooks. Great stuff.
www.escape-music.com
