Lovechild may have been around a few years prior to this debut but the years of practice doesn't show in the final product. Its professional enough with a decent production and mixing. The songwriting is the main issue which is a big one that needs to be dealt with if further discs are in their future.
Lovechild's
"Soul Collector" is a soupy mix of heady European rock that seems influenced by some American bands. There are strong whiffs of Lynch Mob and Badlands and a slight wafting of
Rage for Order Queensryche drifting in. You will also pick up on tidbits of Lethal,
Dokken and mid 909s
Pretty Maids when they were a lil too modern for most tastes. Its a soupy mix that could potentially blend well. Here it does not as there are no risks taken and the band seems to sleep through the choruses and just scribbled some derivative copy to pass as hooks. It doesn't make the grade, especially when there are tons of other rock bands out there looking to claim their fare share of the steak.
Lovechild isn't meaty enough to compete. They are buried in their own clichés and a seeming lack of creativity when they should be out for blood.
Vocalist Werner Schweizer (ex- Satrox) has power and swagger on his side. Unfortunately he kind of flattens out in a generic monotone at crucial moments. He's like a blend of Oni Logan's attitude, Wade Black's annoying tendency for rough yowling and when Werner Schweizer is at his best, he's channeling some kind of funky cross between the biting, forced feeling, aggressive projection of Michael Vescera, and a bluesy tainted swagger of Oni Logan's bad attitude. The songs are built to incorporate his voice and fall flat for lack of anything special. His vibrato is nice and rich but it refuses to gel and comply with tracks like the messy rocker
"Perfect Day". Sure, it rocks and is uptempo and everything, yet comes off as being flatter than a roadkill pancake left steaming by the side of the highway. Also sporting the personality of a dead pet rock is
"Battlefield". Here it falls prey to an over extended use of the chorus hook. It loops like a scene from a bad dream and has no spark whatsoever. The guitars mimic a
Dokken knockoff in their pacing, tone and delivery.
"Lion" is another hopeless victim of the guitar sound. This one has a chunky, bloated, "angry" approach and a rhythm that gets nerve grating fast with its incessant repetition. This is a problem that plagues the entire disc. Repetition and lack of variety. Most songs sound the same as if they were snapped out of the same mold halfheartedly.
Sticking out like sore thumbs are
"Midnight Train" and
"No Return".
"Midnight" has neat buzzing guitars then slaps you in the face with a wonky chorus.
"No Return" gets the acoustics fired off and a flash of swagger in the style of Lynch Mob's first disc with Oni Logan. Their little nuances make them standouts in a dull sea of sameness.
There could be a bright future in store for
Lovechild. Granted, the songwriting is painfully lacking, but the ingredients are on hand to create a decent enough rock band. Perhaps they are just not skilled enough yet to know how to turn their assets into gold. Its an interesting side note that the band hails from Lichtenstein, a bit of trivia that in no way increases the value of the disc though. A boring, ham handed, lame debut from a band with a hint of promise. The real kicker is that there is not one single track on here that could be claimed as memorable. They blend in to each other with no distinctive personalities, leaving not much positive to recommend. Really cannot vouch for
"Soul Collector" as a worthwhile purchase to anyone, except perhaps those that are absolutely desperate for fresh blood in their collections or must own a CD from a Lichtenstein band. In the respect of unusual location, atleast they have that nailed down and going for them.
Written by
Alanna Saturday, January 27, 2007
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