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Frontiers [Release date: 20.10.23]
Vitalines is Tommy Denander and Robbie LaBlanc. Two musicians who need little or no introduction to the Melodic Rock fraternity.
You might immediately be intrigued by the song titles. Several catch your eye: ‘Cards From Another Game’, ‘You Never Know With Magic’, and ‘Judgement Day Is Here’. There’s a sense of finality to this latter title, but perversely, this is the opening track.
It’s easy to fall into exaggeration when describing the music these two talented guys produce. But it’s hard to resist the notion that this might just be their best collection of songs yet.
It takes time to cultivate a musical palate to this level. The duo’s highly developed brand of sophisticated pop and rock on tracks such as ‘Life Waits For No One’ and ‘Nothing But Silence’ could quite easily be the payoff to a career of working hard and paying dues. Never mind talent and ability.
There are echoes of great genre bands all around us as we go through the “born again” AOR of this captivating album.
The richly textured and carefully harmonised ‘Love Not Fantasy’ and ‘Hello World We Need To Talk’ are genuine album highlights. They have the uncluttered, graceful feel of Mr Mister at their best.
Of all the songs here, ‘Love And Thunder’ is emblematic of a genre that peaked in the middle of the eighties, calling to mind Toto and their edgy, proto prog / melodic rock beginnings.
There are faint echoes too of Alias’s unsurpassed AOR mid paced ballad, ‘Waiting For Love’ on ‘When Spirits Fight’, mainly thanks to the mood music and LaBlanc’s yearning vocals.
‘Cards From Another Game’ could have been Survivor in a sublimely creative moment and ‘You Never Know With Magic’ could have fallen off the back of Chicago’s Stone Of Sisyphus album.
At times, maybe the production lacks oomph and depth, but they make up for that in arrangement and melody. And the songs, serpentine and sinuous, are pushed along by the music’s restless, driving rhythms.
Often electrifying, frequently exciting, this is one fine piece of music. ****1/2
Review by Brian McGowan
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