Sweden has released some hard rocking hitters of late, now we have Naughty Boys (oo-er!) Upon first listen the album is full of high octane angst and melody driven numbers, concentrating on the classic hard rock to glam style, but there’s much more of a punk infusion in some instances in terms of attitude alone.
Opening track ‘Destiny Calls’ is full of energy and has a pounding kick drum beat much like the current Hate Gallery tunes. Vocals that are rough around the edges gives you that little burst of dirtiness to make this an addictive listen. You will not find anything different, or wonder-kid guitar players; the band concentrates on getting the melody right and giving the listener a large enough snippet of themselves to take a hold. ‘Walk Away’ and ‘Don’t Turn Around’ give the listener a chorus to really sink their teeth into and sing along too; whilst by this point, I am still liking this, I am just not really listening that intently anymore. Bands always feel they need to do a ballad; here we have ‘Eternity’. It’s at this point when I hear vocalist Mikael Sandvik struggling in the higher notes, perhaps a key change would have suited his voice more. However, it’s still a cool ballad as far as ballads go. Ha, and now that the sun has come out, I find this album a bit more appealing; this must be a sign of a fun filled experience!
‘Broken’ has a funky intro, bass and organ parts (I think it’s a synthesised Hammond sound). The tune is good, but I find the piano a little distracting and unwanted to be honest; let’s not make this an Evanescence track! There is enough music and lyrical content to keep the track’s momentum going without this addition. The Swedes pull off another melody driven masterpiece by anyone’s standards though, no matter how hard you try to find fault with something (vocally the high notes are strained again)! The riffs are all in context with what is happening and it fits just right (the organ is more pleasing than the piano sound!). ‘Head Held High’ brings to me a big smile; I like this, and this is the one for me on the album. All the trademark hard rock instrumental pieces are there, strong vocal harmonies in the chorus and then you get a rousing roar of excitement throughout the remaining parts of the song.
On the whole, it’s a strong release, it’s not a unique release by any step of the mark, but fans of this genre will grow to like this I am sure.
http://www.naughtyboys.se/
http://www.myspace.com/naughtyboys
