Frontiers [Release date: 19.01.24]
With the DNA of eighties AOR coursing through its veins, Swedish band, Grand compete with outfits like Wigelius, Eclipse, HEAT and WET in recreating the genre’s past glories in a post Melodic Rock world.
On their second album now, with a title that’s clearly justified, they provide all the evidence we might need that they are a band on the rise.
Essentially a trio, with countertenor vocalist, Mattias Ollofson, the exceptionally talented Jakob Svensson on guitar and Anton Martinez Matz on drums, their music is a breath of fresh air that wears its influences well, integrating them into well written slices of reflective song writing.
The medium paced ‘When We Were Young’ stands out, a perfect homage to a time suspended in aspic, as does the yearning, sweetly harmonised ‘Lily’, a look back at romance and the innocence of youth.
The Melodic Rock songbook can sound worn and threadbare nowadays, but while songs like ‘Sweet Talker’ (very Australian Crawl, very 1927) and ‘All Or Nothing’ are distinctly retro flavoured, their naggingly familiar hooks and spare, sophisticated arrangements make them sound fresh and exciting if not groundbreaking.
There’s a controlled kinetic energy to the album, no question, a promise of something memorable in almost every track, full of sleek hooks and heart on sleeve subject matter.
Two lightning bolts of brilliance illuminate the rest. ‘Leave No Scar’, a rock song with the pop immediacy of the Boyband era, and ‘Crash And Burn’, an elegantly crafted, guitar driven slice of melodic rock.
Grand have turned the old adage of the difficult second album totally on its head. ****
Review by Brian McGowan
Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK
Since early 2020 Josh has been entertaining us with exclusive monthly live sessions, streamed via Facebook.
In 2023 he signed a recording deal with Sony in Canada and released a new single on 15 September.
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Power Plays w/c 15 April 2024
ENMY The Ledge (FiXT)
KAROBELA Get Hard (indie)
KATH & THE KICKS Neptune (indie)
THE BEE TELLERS River Poem (Black Sand Records)
LAUREN FREEBIRD Like A Bomb (indie)
Featured Albums w/c 15 April 2024
09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023
14:00-16:00 KATARINA PEJAK – Pearls On A String (Ruf Records)
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