| CD REVIEW House of Lords |
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Band: House of Lords "House of Lords" have released yet another album. Their previous one Come to my Kingdom dates from 2008 - so you have to admit that James Christian is a busy bee. "Cartesian Dreams" has got all the classic elements of a HOL album: majestic atmospheres, superb guitar riffs, soaring vocals and of course a great production...it sure brings back some nice memories ... I still remember the song "Love Don't lie" from their self-titled debut album (1988) as if it was yesterday. After that I kinda lost track of HOL....but I am glad they are still alive & kicking in the 21 st century... So back to the new album....the title track "Cartesian Dreams" really blows you away: majestic keyboard intro scattered by drums and crushed by a superb guitar riff.....this is House of Lords at it best...definitively one of my favorites. Compared to "Cartesian dreams" the second track, "Born to be your baby", (slightly) remains beyond the newly set expectations. But "Desert rain" is another superb song that embodies the powerfull rock sound of HOL. This is their musical contribution on the War on Terror and they even squeezed in a speech of the dumbest Texas ranger in the history of men. "Sweet september" is the first ballad on the album. It has a catchy chorus that lingers on in your head...and needless to say ...great vocals. "Banging" is another up tempo song that is prettty OK on its own but it is not of same quality of the previous tracks. "A simple plan" is another (semi) ballad but with a lot more power then Sweet September. OK we are halfway the album and I have to admit that I am pretty impressed but unfortunately from here on it goes downhill fast. "Never look back", "The bigger they come", "Repo man", "Saved by rock" and "Joanna" are nothing but mediocre rocksongs which are only worth mentioning to complete the tracklist. Luckily they added a bonus track (The train). So what started out as truly excellent rock material slowly slithered into mediocrity...a damn shame that my nostalgic rock trip only lasted about 25 minutes...instead of 50. Final judgement: 70/100 Filip Van de Gaer. |