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Frontiers [Release date : 15.03.24]
Debut album from young Swedish quartet, Lipz, in which they attempt to breathe life into a dying genre, Glam Rock. We’re told.
But how do you define “Glam Rock”?
Would that be the early eighties, when the Glam Rock/Sleaze Rock/ Bandana Rock genre was kicking into high gear on LA’s Sunset strip?
Had Lipz been part of that First US Wave, then in comparison, you might well have branded the music of fellow travellers, Motley Crue, Ratt and Poison as grimy and transgressive.
Lipz could do with some of that grime and transgression. The only other band to come near succeeding today (with their harder rocking version of the genre) is Wigwam. Lessons to be learned.
But Lipz play it straight, walking a high wire between AOR, Pop and Glam, doing their best to get the balance just right. Fair enough.
Standouts, ‘Changing The Melody’, ‘Bang Bang’ and ‘I’m Alive’ just crackle with kinetic energy, bringing together all of the band’s derivative rock strengths in a pulsing mix of stomping hooks and rhythmic hard edged Pop.
‘Bye Bye Beautiful’ is full of attitood and Boyband chutzpah. All that’s missing is a key change on the coda.
The inevitable ballad, ‘Freak’ has every Boyband ever’s fingerprints all over it, Alex K Klintberg’s androgynous vocals are a perfect fit. This truly is an outstanding slice of hard edged Poprock, showing great imagination in an arrangement that slows the music down then speeds it up as the mood changes.
Another pop ballad, ‘I Would Die For You’ is maybe a bit too saccharine for the image the band is attempting to create, despite its explosive chorus.
The album ends on a real high. ‘Monsterz’ has a sturdy, muscular melody, worked up into a strong Pop/AOR song with surprisingly perceptive, grown up lyrics, despite the song title spelling.
On the downside, the production is often a bit thin, masked by this young band’s driving, infectious energy. Not every song reaches escape velocity, but the ones that make it are worthy of our attention. ***
Review by Brian McGowan
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