Remember back in the mid- and late 1990s, when a slew of anti-grunge bands hit the airwaves with a snappy, contemporary sound that countered the era's down-tuned forlornness? Norway's Fenrik Lane, which formed in the late Nineties and no doubt would have been right at home on American radio at the time, resurrects that sound with renewed urgency and class on 317 — among the first releases on the new MelodicRock.com offshoot, MelodicRockRecords.com
Here are 14 crisp and crunchy songs performed by seasoned veterans, polished to modern-rock perfection. The lyrics are smart and unexpected, the arrangements veer from the genre's tried-and-true, and the melodies won't leave your brain. Ever.
The catchiest track is "Diamonds in the Waste," an anthem that bridges U2, Green Day, Bon Jovi and The All-American Rejects. On the other hand, the most unexpected of the bunch is a rocked-up version of dance-pop diva Rihanna's haunting "Russian Roulette." Other highlights include the grand opener "Megalomania," the soaring ballad "Cover Your Eyes" (which shows off the trio's harmonies) and the glorious "Hello." MelodicRockRecords.com honcho Andrew McNeice isn't kidding when he claims the "production quality is nothing short of major label, and there isn't one song on the album that couldn't be a potential radio single." About the only dud is the plodding "Bulletproof."
Cynics might call Fenrik Lane a dozen years too late to this rock 'n' roll party. But in 2011, when more music than ever is being produced — much of it inferior to what came before it — this trio's sound is welcomed with open ears. I'm not sure about the band's name and 317's album cover featuring a landscape of headless, naked mannequins, but I'll gladly overlook details like that in exchange for 56-and-a-half minutes of melodic-rock bliss.
Track Listing:
1) Megalomania
2) Call Her Name
3) Diamonds in the Waste
4) Paranoia
5) Runaway Car
6) Cover Your Eyes
7) Left Me Scarred
8) Hot Lips
9) Bulletproof
10) Hello
11) Going Nowhere
12) Hate How You Say Goodbye
13) Sun Explodes
14) Russian Roulette
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