The new Journey album? No, the new Meat Loaf. No....
Artiste: Care of night
Nationality: Swedish
Album: Connected
Year: 2015
Label: AOR Heaven
Genre: AOR/Melodic Rock
Tracks:
Cassandra
Hearts belong
Those words
Dividing lines
Say a prayer
Contact
Please remember
Unify
Give me strength
Say you will
Chronological position: Debut album
Familiarity: Zero
Interesting factoid:
Initial impression: Good, heart-pumping AOR with hooky choruses, though it fools me by starting on a fade with a slow piano...
Best track(s): Cassandra, Dividing lines, Say a prayer, Give me strength, Say you will
Worst track(s): Those words
Comments: I've had a lot of luck with Swedish AOR over the last year or so, with Houston, Work of Art and others, so I'm hoping for good things from this debut. If anyone happens to know Seven Tears, some of the guys here are from that band which apparently broke up in 2009. An interestingly low-key start before it kicks into life with a real AOR vocal harmony chorus and we're off and rocking. Kind of gives me a Meat Loaf feeling right from the start with touches of Van Halen in around the edges. Nice snarling guitar on “Hearts belong”, which keeps the tempo high, and again those vocal harmonies, the lifeblood of any good AOR song, are in evidence. I find this song though very reminiscent of a Journey one, just can't think of it ...
Quality dips a little for “Those words”; just not quite feeling it on this track, but that's soon forgotten as the first ballad comes through, and “Dividing lines” certainly returns us to the promise of the first two tracks, a power ballad if ever there was one and a big hit single if there's any justice in the world. Just oozes emotion and even has a sax solo to make it complete. Superb. Not to be left out, guitarist Jonathan Carlemar lets loose with a fine solo. Best track so far without question. “Say a prayer” is another great track, though somehow very familiar; I almost felt I could predict the lyric. Is this a cover? I don't think so, but it does sound if not copied then very generic, which is not to say it's not a good song, just nothing original and very familiar, like the Journey
deja vu of “Hearts belong”. The same with “Contact”: great song but I'm sure if I have not actually heard the song before I've heard the melody and structure. AOR by numbers? Let's not be that cruel. Yet.
Another nice sax break, then “Please remember” heads into boogie rock territory, very catchy though a little left of centre considering what has gone before, while “Unify” I have to say tries a little too hard to be something it isn't, but it's a good slow rock cruncher with an anthemic chorus. Happily, “Give me strength” gets back to what Care of Night do best: rocking with great vocal harmonies and catchy choruses, and this is a big improvement on the last two tracks. Again the Journey comparisons are there, but then as another reviewer would have it, “Not a single trace of originality but ... why mess with a winning team?” Can't really argue with that.
There's a nice finish then for “Say you will”, an acoustic opening (which sadly again reminds me this time of Extreme) which turns into a very powerful track that builds up to a strong climax and then fades out on single piano. Very nice.
Overall impression: A very good AOR album but there are far better I've heard. For a Swedish AOR band a little disappointing.
Hum Factor: 8
Surprise Factor: 3
Intention: If they release another album in a year or two I wouldn't be averse to hearing it.