The ubiquitous
Ronnie Borchert is back with his band,
Trixie, and a new album, '
Shelter'.
Fitting somewhere among past product from
Def Leppard, Poison,
Cinderella and EZN, '
Shelter's shrewdly pitched amalgam of sleaze metal and arena rock doesn't have an original stylistic bone in its body. But what it has is a band who, as practitioners in their chosen field of expertise, have few equals. Certainly, there are none in their peer group who are writing material this good nowadays.
That song writing, and the resultant credit, is almost entirely due to Borchert. His twisting, sinuous hooks and soft centred melodies will remind you of Kerri Kelli's band, The Big Bang Babies, whose '
Three Chords And The Truth' album is one of the undiscovered marvels of the modern musical age.
It comes as a pleasant surprise to find that the momentum is sustained right through this recording. The quality doesn't flag. The soaring, anthemic track 8,
'Show Me How' could just as easily have been the album's opener. Then there's the handsomely melodic track 10,
'Stay'. Here, a finely tuned, romantically inclined arrangement and a light but surefooted production touch delivers up a beautifully melancholic slice of haunting pop rock.
Like
Def Leppard (as taught by Mutt),
Trixie frequently favour the bgvs as lead vocal trick. This enlivens the thrusting pop metal of
'You That I'm Wanting', and more especially the stomping, flamboyant '
Inside Of Me', making it a contender for standout track.
Tom Keifer could easily have written '
New Orleans Rain', and probably wishes he did. Borchert gives the song that swampy, vaguely pedal steel blues sheen that
Cinderella did so successfully on their criminally underrated 'Heartbreak Station' release.
'Shelter' closes with a cover of '
Wasted', written by the Joe Elliott and the late Steve Clarke. It's a cruelly ironic but highly appropriate way to finish the album, and the song seems right at home.
Written by
Brian Wednesday, October 4, 2006
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