EndeverafteR-Kiss or kill

Razor and Tie
2007

This California based band came to many people’s attention when they opened for Cinderella and Poison back in the summer of 2006. A little odd that they landed a large opening spot without having an album to support, but obviously someone saw something in them. Now we can call hear what it is they have to give. When I first saw song titles like “I wanna be your man”, “Baby, baby , baby” and “Tip of the tongue” I thought “oh,no”. The lyrics leave a bit to be desired, but if a high cheese content doesn’t bother you then you. If the music and the overall presentation is what you are looking for then this entry may be to your liking particularly if you like late 70’s-late 80’s hard rock. Obviously these guys listened to their share of hard rock bands from twenty some years ago. The vocals are clear yet contain enough of an edge to work on most of the tracks. They know the hooks, have decent timing and a good sense of how to write catchy songs that will stick with you after a listen or two. However, it’s not all throw back to high hair and big ballads here because there is a huge dose of power-pop tossed into the mix here as well. It's not that I am opposed to that style of music, but there are several songs where the vocals take the focus and the music kind of falls to the side. Several songs start out with great riffs, but then too often the guitar falls back into the shadows only to emerge here and there throughout the track. There are a few tracks where it just feels like the steam is gone out of them too early. I don't think it's lack of playing ability, but rather a focus on the vocals over the music. My hope would be that they can find a better medium between the vocals and the music the next time. Still it's overall a good rock album that I took a liking to on the first listen.





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