This is a new project that has been put together by Thomas Bursell (lead vocals, background vocals) and Niclas Olsson (keyboards, background vocals) plus assorted other musicians. Thomas and Niclas worked together in Second Heat some years ago, but since then they have been involved in separate projects, most notably the latter in Alyson Avenue. However, they decided that now was the time to get back together and to create a polished AOR band, and to be honest they have done a damn fine job of it. Even though there are a couple of other lead singers as well, and more than one or two musicians, this comes across much more as a group than a project and is something that lovers of AOR are just going to lap up.
Hooks? Check. Harmony vocals? Check. Guitar solos and plenty of melodic riffs? Double check. This doesn’t pretend to be anything more than it is, melodic rock for today, with just enough edge to take away the sugar that can often be way too over-powering. There is a cleanliness and refinement that shows that it is from the current wave as opposed to the Eighties, but to me that is a positive and I found that I really enjoyed playing this album fro start to finish. It isn’t unusual for a complete album of AOR to be a bit much in one listen, but here I found that I was looking forward to the next song and when the album I had finished I put it on again. This may not be a meaty complete meal, but sometimes all you want is a snack and this album hits that spot perfectly.
www.avenue-of-allies.com
