Radiating glam rock & pop metal, transmitting on the same wavelength as
Wigwam and to some extent, The Poodles,
Private Line are the latest NBTs to release a well received album.
There's so much energy emanating from
'Evel Knievel Factor', that you can feel this recording as much as you can hear it.
This is hi-energy, high impact contemporary poprock. Dressed to kill designer rock for the post grunge, post boyband generation, filled to the brim with hooks, melodies and attitude, all delivered by upmarket production values.
That said, you can't escape the uneasy feeling that, like the greasepaint, the album's beauty is only skin deep. It music feels calculated in some places, emotionally estranged in others. It clearly sets out to dazzle and at times you wonder just how much exists behind the bright lights. Yet, at other times you just can't fail to be impressed, illusion or otherwise.
Teetering on their glitzy stack heels, '
Evel Knievel Factor' and
'Broken Promised Land' adopt the trashy, feelgood formula much loved by early
Poison and Alice Cooper, even occasionally echoing Kiss. Good value.
'Alive' may not shoot off tangentially, but it's definitely different. It eschews flash and focuses on the song. It rocks with confidence and conviction.
The balladesque
'Sound Advice' passes over into pop metal territory. Poodlish, polished, and pumped up by a soaring string section, it reaches for that awesome melodic moment, and almost gets there.
'The Sindicate', 'Uniform' and '
Gods Of Rewind' embrace just enough infectious, aurally adhesive hooks to hold our attention and yes, occasionally to thrill us too.
Where the melodies maybe just aren't enough to carry the song -
'Prozac Nation',
'Billion Star Hotel' - inventive arrangements and a production that knows all the hip, happening studio tricks step in to save the day.
The ghosts of a thousand influences may well stalk these tracks, but nevertheless,
Private Line may well be a band to watch.
Written by
Brian Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Show all reviews by BrianRatingsBrian: 6.5/10Members: No members have rated this album yet.
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