Frontiers [Release date 07.08.20]
Arctic Rain’s music is gloriously reminiscent of the melodic rock genre’s more hypnotic moments. On most tracks, you can tell that they have been thumbing through a dog eared copy of the Eighties’ AOR Blueprint. Doesn’t make them bad people of course.
Many, many bands have since got into bed with the same successful formula, but “The One” is a triumph of pastiche over parody, of passion over plagiarism. It’s all down to the calibre of the songwriting and the band’s studio execution of course. And that’s where Arctic Rain is head and shoulders above most of its melodic rock contemporaries.
You can hear clear echoes of Treat and HEAT running through highly derivative AOR of ‘Lift Me Up’ and ‘Love Of My Life’ which opens the “The One”. But the album unquestionably pivots around the second track, ‘Lost’.
It’s full throated stuff, given real weight by an upwardly mobile chorus that races to crescendo, like a pumped up Survivor, (main songwriter Alpenborg worked with Jim Peterik collaborator, Toby Hitchcock, as well as Kee Marcello and Denis Ward).
Vocalist Tobias Jonsson projects the same vocal magnetism, fuelled by the same relentless energy as that of the late Jimi Jamison. It’s a quality you can hear on other AOR gems that adorn the album’s coat of many melodic rock colours…’Friends’ and ‘Free My Mind’ are particularly notable for their vertiginous, heartlifting hooks, and the fact that they mix a variety of influences while still sounding fresh and new.
Elsewhere, the picks would be the polished, big sounding ‘Night After Night’, a finely filigreed ballad, and ‘The One’, where the compact drama opens out onto a huge musical landscape, in the manner of Unruly Child.
No question, Arctic Rain’s debut is a truly magnificent listen. ****1/2
Review by Brian McGowan
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
Next session: Sunday 19 January
Check out videos here: https://www.facebook.com/getreadytorockradio
David Randall presents a weekly show on Get Ready to ROCK! Radio, Sundays at 22:00 GMT, repeated on Mondays and Fridays), when he invites listeners to ‘Assume The Position’. The show signposts forthcoming gigs and tours and latest additions at getreadytorock.com. First broadcast on 1 December 2024.
UK Blues Broadcaster of the Year (2020 and 2021 Finalist) Pete Feenstra presents his weekly Rock & Blues Show on Tuesday at 19:00 GMT as part of a five hour blues rock marathon “Tuesday is Bluesday at GRTR!”. The show is repeated on Wednesdays at 22:00, Fridays at 20:00). This show was first broadcast 3 December 2024.
How to Listen Live?
Click the programming image at the top of the page (top right of page if using desktop)
Listen via Windows Media Player. Click or tap here and “open file”
Listen via other media player (eg. VLC) Click or tap here and “open file”
Get Ready to ROCK! Radio is also in iTunes under Internet Radio/Classic Rock
Listen in via the Tunein app and search for “Get Ready to ROCK!” and save as favourite.
More information and links at our radio website where you can listen again to shows via the presenter pages: getreadytorockradio.com
Power Plays w/c 9 December 2024
In this sequence we play ‘The Best of 2024′ GRTR! reviewer selections
Featured Albums w/c 9 December 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2024 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2024 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2024 (Singer Songwriter)