White Widdow: Serenade

What with the amount of quality AOR about again and young bands suddenly releasing albums almost yearly again, I'm beginning to wonder if I haven't actually slipped into a time vortex and landed squarely in the early eighties. Falling straight into these categories is Aussie AOR act (those words still feel like a double negative) White Widdow, who make a quick fire return with their second album Serenade. The band's self titled debut found singer Jules Millis and his brother and keyboard player Xavier, mixing soaring melodies with the sharp guitar work of Enzo Almanzi, leaving a strong taste of early Danger Danger, White Sister, Survivor and Treat. With Serenade I would possibly also add the lighter end of Def Leppard's sound to that mix, although in truth it would have been good to hear even the slightest deviation from that blue print from time to time.

Songs such as "Reckless Nights" and "Do You Remember" certainly contain all the required glossy vocals and dancing keyboards to make White Widdow contenders in the current melodic rock resurgence. However even in a genre where stretching out is a rare commodity, WW have played album number two extremely safe, to the extent that actually telling it apart from their debut is quite a task. That said, it is still hard to pick fault with any of the ten tracks on the album and AOR purists will, no doubt, get themselves in quite a lather over this band. Millis is a singer of genuine talent, with his delivery containing brightness and warmth in equal measure, while Almanzi and Xavier seem to have an innate ability to weave smooth patterns round each other's playing, with busy passages from both combining smoothly to make catchy, memorable songs. Bassist Trent Wilson and drummer Jim Nash may keep things simple, but that's more because it is exactly what these songs require and their restraint improves the end results.

White Widdow have definitely avoided second album syndrome with Serenade, however it feels more like a holding album, rather than one that really takes them to the next level. That however won't stop AOR fans lapping up every second.

Track Listing
1. Cry Wolf
2. Strangers In The Night
3. Do You Remember
4. Reckless Night
5. How Far I Run
6. Serenade
7. Show Your Cards
8. Mistake
9. Patiently
10. Love Won't Wait

Added: September 18th 2011
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: White Widdow
Hits: 2646
Language: english

[ Printer Friendly Page ]
[ Send to a Friend ]