Since this band is not exactly headliner status yet, a quick run down of their prior life before "High Tension Wire" is likely necessary.
Final Frontier formed out of a friendship between the lead singer, Rob Moratti and guitarist/bassist/keyboardist simply known as Mladen. After over a decade of working apart on separate projects including contributions to Von Groove, 24K and Triumph, they decided to form their own band. The first disc titled "First Wave" was handled entirely by these two men, but for "Second Wave" a couple of other members were added and the sound was more fleshed out and it became one of those unexpected favorites in underground circles and among critics alike. Not that it was anything overtly unique, but there was something about the band that had charisma, especially in the songwriting department.
This is
Final Frontier's 3rd go around and it seems they have taken a few steps back in comparision to the last time we saw them, with the aptly titled "Second Wave". As for their sound, it's like a mash up of Starship and
Journey with an extreme European twist, which shows up especially in the vocals. If you think Steve Perry was high pitched, then you are in for some pain with these guys because Rob Moratti stays in that range and refuses to budge and heaps on a huge accent to go along with it. In fact, the more I hear him, the more he gets compared to Mills, especially in his younger days on "Brave the Storm" with
Shy. It's all well done, and if
Journey is your thing, then this will be eaten up but with reservations for everyone else that's not blinded by the strong resemblance to the 80s
AOR arena gods who are already mentioned too much in this review.
"Who's Going To Love You Now" sounds like
Journey from the earlier days, and then again so does
"Listen To Your Heart", both which are fine tunes with plenty of keyboards, and especially on the latter track, which sports rather proudly a smooth midtempo, fresh-out-of-the-80s vibe.
"Sunset at Dawn" is a lovely ballad that hits home hard with a rather pretty sound and more air raid siren singing followed by lusciously light guitar that has a soft downy quality to it all the while shining like the surface of a crystal lake.
Speaking of lakes.
"Angel of the Lake" with its warbling synthesizer and heartfelt cries of "angel" comes across as a sweet confection that drips with longing and is heavily reminiscent of
Shy from vocals, to melodies and everything inbetween. And you know what? It's an absolute delight, even the percussion that sounds suspiciously like a tambourine.
"Beauty and the Beast" is another well done penned
AOR track that has a lot of heart in the right places and though uptempo with a sweeping feel, it lingers with sorrow. The lyrics especially illustrate this sad story of two people who just cannot find their paradise due to outside influences. The guitar surges on with its sticky loveliness and soars into flight for a nicely inserted solo that fades into piano and vocals with a few well placed notes for maximum impact. Also of note is the fact that even though the song seems over, there is still some heart squeezing guitar still to come that stays with you until the end, leaving you tingling with a sense of sadness.
Also have to mention
"Hollywood Drama" which tickles the fancy by being like Skagarack, whom I adore. Oh and the word "drama" is terribly mispronounced. Although I like the skipping stone manner that the background vocals echo
"lights",
"camera",
"action" with a lengthy pause inbetween and Moratti yowling "all she wants" drawing out the "ah" sound in
"wants" for what seems like forever. Admittedly this might be my favorite even though it's not the best example of their work.
The
Journey clone
"Hearts on Fire" is just one example of when the formula goes wrong though. There's nothing really wrong with the song, it's just so cliched and generic that it's nearly painful to endure and becomes a fidgety, repetitive bore.
It seems that the rest of "High Tension Wire" is comfortable going through the motions and popping out a cool song now and then. The problem with the band is also on the flipside a plus, depending on which angle you are looking through the window. If you are wanting someone to push the buttons and take the music to another level, then they certainly will not fit your criteria, but if its someone to play it safe, this is just the disc for you. They keep the music in that sanitized, synth heavy 80s decade range and are happy to stay there. It's not groundbreaking but it is more than decently done, sometimes going over the edge into the realms of being very good. But just like the oddly prophetic song here, it seems that there could be
"Something More Than This".
But unlike those bands that keep popping up as points of comparision for
Final Frontier, "High Tension Wire" is not going to be a disc that lingers in your mind for long. It's fun while it lasts but none of the songs really stick with you except for a few notable exceptions.
"Angel of the Lake" and
"Beauty and the Beast" both have their moments of excellence but honestly are they going to be big enough draws to have you fishing this out of the draw come next year, once it's off the radar and there are lots of other new releases to dig into? Probably not.
The other issue with the disc is the production, which seems to be on the lacking side. Moratti's voice seems to have been given the greatest of care while in the mixing, but in the process has been pushed forcefully to the front and he's just too brittle against the background music on a few tunes. This is potentially even more grating considering his very high ranged vocal style, which unfortunately is not hindered by the accent, but rather by a coldness that spills over even into the ballads. Steve Perry and Tony Mills could melt your heart when necessary, but Moratti doesn't really have the warmth to melt that block of ice. He leaves you freezing and cold when he should be thawing you out more, and no matter how many soulful guitar riffs you layer on top of it or try to hide him behind, that soulful emotion is just not coming across as it should. His "ahs" are a dead ringer for Steve Perry though.
If
Journey,
Shy, Starship, or even
Survivor tickled your fancy twenty years ago, then this will likely fill that void in your soul today. You know, that side which is seeking new music that draws directly from that 80s wishing well.
Final Frontier looks not to push the boundaries, but rather retread everything that has been heard before and squish these elements into new songs. That makes "High Tension Wire" retro-tastic, and fits exactly what they are attempting to do. With some more work, and Moratti loosening up a little and gaining more soul, they could really become something superb, the seeds are there planted and are still waiting to bloom. For now, they are a very likeable diversion, the charisma is there, and so is the talent, they just need more work.
Written by
Alanna Thursday, June 16, 2005
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