Frontiers [Release date: 19.05.23]
Those melodic rock fans who mainline the uncut version of the brand might not have time for artists who add their own distinctive musical seasoning.
But they might just find that this shiny new album from House Of Shakira will satisfy even the most exacting of tastes.
This band neither dilute nor distort the genre, but use it as a solid base to which they add layers of invention, constantly capturing rock’n’roll lightning in a bottle.
This, the band’s fifth album is full of catchy tunes and memorably melodic hooks, from ‘Twisted Attitude’, a helter skelter slice of slick pop immediacy to ‘Toxic Train’s repurposed funk, and a chorus lifted from the Valentine/ Valensia Playbook.
It’s simply a series of musical delights, full of expertly managed arrangements, with most vocal lines shadowed by brittle, tightly packed falsetto harmonies, underlined by crunching guitars.
‘Something In the Water’ launches the album with some eighties’ upscale New Wave Rock, a post Eagles Glenn Frey – a rock song shining with bright pop songcraft.
The prime, hard edged melodic rock of ‘Too Much Love’ and ‘The Message’, both richly textured and almost entirely lacking in sterile studio gloss are bulletins from the future of the genre.
Only ‘No Silver Lining’ dares step away from the chosen path. The lyrics’ downbeat philosophising gives the song an attractive melancholy undertow, which turns out to be the calm before a lengthy, heart stopping hook.
No question, XIT is a perfect, pop meets melodic rock classic, from a band who never stuck to the formula, and thankfully, still don’t. *****
Review by Brian McGowan
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
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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)
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