A Thousand Pieces
Higher Ground
(AOR Heaven)

This, the second full length CD, from Sweden does not impress on first listen. It sounds rather familiar and a bit weak at times. This will change however, repeated listens will expose the vast complexity of the melodies that lie therein. The use of female backing vocals add an interesting texture to this brand of Scandi-rock. There is a strong Rembrants vibe on this release, with all their sing-along quality permeating each track. Much like afore-mentioned band this is more the poppy side of hard rock and it does not take too much imagination to see this lot on the charts alongside Bon Jovi et al. This is definetely the more accesible (to non-Scandinavian ears) of recent Scandi-rock releases. The tracks pretty much retain the quality of early highlights such as "Speechless" and "I feel Alive". Quite fun really and worth giving a chance.

Rating: 3.8