The Poodles-Performacracy

Frontiers
2011

Sweden's the Poodles return with their latest effort and fans are not going to be disappointed. These guys obviously grew up listening to the likes of Motley Crue, Def Leppand, Bon Jovi and other 80's-early 90's hard rock bands. They have that sound at their core, but there is definitely a modern rock shell wrapped around the twenty plus year old hard rock influences. Don't let that last part scare you because for the most part these guys know how to get the best out of their sound. They remind somewhat of Crashdiet only far more consistent. There are some pop elements here with U2 being a definite a source on several songs. The Poodles know how to pull heavy edges and smooth pop choruses together and tie the two together so they compliment each other. Tracks like "Your time is now", "Bring back the night" and "Until our kingdom falls" will all have you singing along rather quickly. The production is high quality and very consistent although some times it seemed smoother than it had to be. I don't think all old school hard rocks fans will embrace this album right away because it is different, but give it a chance and it may grow on you. Took me about two plays to warm up to it.