Lana Lane devotees: take a number! Featuring members of Cross, Galleon, and Grand Stand, Spektrum's ranking as a mini-supergroup led by Lizette von Panajott won't be debated so much as the project's eponymous debut could stand to reduce polarization of the anti-neo contingent and any & all who love their symphonic rock served up with alluring female vocals. The songs have a lot of heart, and two tracks in the nine-minute range make this disc worth auralyzing. Guitarist Hansi Cross and keyboardist Olov Andersson take most of the writing credit; bassist Göran Fors dabs on a little color, but he & drummer Göran Johnsson are primarily canvas-pullers.
Don't look for anything remotely progressive—not in a groundbreaking sense. The term to be applied, which was already used, is symphonic rock. Despite the background these members share in their respective bands, overt is the notion that the music is written expressly for enjoyment, not to emulate their back-catalogs (though that could be next to impossible, in this sense). Reactionary incredulity to the robustness of songs like "Land Of Longing," "The Quest," "Now," and "Chemical Release" (the last two being the long tunes) are to be expected—positive identification of a very tight band working toward a premeditated objective will rein in said skepticism. Expect plenty of stacked triads and straight beats with legato synth solos and arena rock guitar stylings. Lizette sounds like a Swedish Stevie Nicks (not too much of a stretch) with more range.
Modus operandi is offset by a single instrumental: "Perpetuum Mobile." A smoke-smooth Rhodes patch and ARPish swells sound off this moody, noirish diversion with Cross's guitar in pane-smooth David Gilmour mode. The musical box outro is such a cliché, but so short it is, matter does it not. While nothing extraordinary, Spektrum is an unlikely calling card in that pretenses having been dumped, it's likely to win over the sort who don't regularly or typically listen to the members' bands or their ilk.
Printer Friendly Page
Send to a Friend
