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Frontiers Records (release date 14.10.22)
Of the multitude of Scandinavian melodic rock bands to emerge in recent years, Perfect Plan have been one of the best. Indeed their second album ‘Time for a Miracle’ was my album of 2020. The superb vocals of Kent Hilli were their biggest selling point and have since graced both a solo album and the controversial new incarnation of Giant, but here he returns to the day job.
Their first two albums were a glorious mix of old school AOR and classic hard rock. On this third effort, the emphasis is generally on their harder rocking, bluesy repertoire- indeed several times I was drawing comparisons with the legion of Scandi acts inspired by classic Whitesnake such as Snakes in Paradise, Damned Nation and even Jorn. I’m pleased to report that my only issue with the previous albums has been addressed with significantly better production with the drum sound in particular beefed up.
With repeated listens, the opening quartet are outstanding: ‘Surrender’ has a lot going on with multiple bridges and choruses, and even an intro and mid-section bridge reminiscent of prime time Queensryche. The naggingly familiar ‘If Love Walks In’ is more melodic with big hooks and backing vocals ploughing similar territory to Europe (‘Prisoners in Paradise’ era) and ‘Can’t Let You Win’ a good example of their heavier sound, especially in the rapid fire bursts of Rolf Nordstrom’s guitar.
On ‘Gotta Slow Me Down’ some classic Hammond organ sounds are kept in the background in a song reminiscent of Whitesnake or Tangier, yet there is a unexpected but wonderful synth solo from Leif Echlin leading into another fine guitar solo. However the next two songs are in their own way just a little too overwrought: the intense heaviness of ‘Stop the Bleed’ and the only real ballad ‘My Angel’ where his extravagant delivery combines with a piano intro and power chords to tick every single cliché in the book.
‘Devil’s Got the Blues’ , ‘Bring Me a Doctor’ and ‘Still Undefeated’ are a trio of swaggering, bluesy hard rockers pitched somewhere between Whitesnake and a bluesier Europe with Kent sounding like Joey Tempest in places, most notably on the last of the three, where the ‘who-oahs’ could have been taken from their ‘Little Bit of Lovin’, and boasting a fine passage where keyboard and guitar solos are traded.
‘Emilie’- another overused girl’s name in the world of AOR- boasts eighties style layered keyboards and is an excellent piece of mid tempo AOR, a comparatively rare style on the album, before the smouldering ‘Walk Through Fire’ is more in keeping with the rest of the album without offering anything new.
While perhaps inevitably falling a little short of its predecessor’s classic status, with a new and beefed up approach Perfect Plan have kept up their standard of quality so far. **** ¼
Review by Andy Nathan
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