Saturday, May 26, 2012

CARMEN GRAY: "Gates Of Loneliness"

Rating: 7/10
Label: Grey Music Entertainment 2011 (international release 2012)
Review by Kimmo Toivonen

Well this band has re-invented themselves! With their two previous albums, they had a bit of a gothic flair to their hard rock, and you would have been forgiven for finding similarities to HIM, Negative and the likes. "Gates Of Loneliness" showcases a band that has dug deeper and found influences from the seventies. Gone is the metallic crunch of their earlier material, replaced by the swagger of The Rolling Stones or Aerosmith. And add touches of Soul Asylum, Oasis, The Goo Goo Dolls and David Bowie to the mix too...

The sound might be a bit different than before, but the band are still capable of writing big choruses. The title track, "Love Story Town" and "Real Punks (Plastic Smiles)" prove that. A special mention must go to the lyrics, they're better than what Finnish bands usually write. Due to the overall laid-back sound and the lack of uptempo songs the album doesn't completely win me over, but still, it's pretty decent piece of work.
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