Like many bands of the era, this ’80s outfit resembles its original incarnation in name only PLUS Vancouver Sleep Clinic and L.A. Cobra.
This week’s album reviews from The Courier-Mail (ratings out of five stars):
ROCK
Journey, Freedom
(BMG) ***
Like LRB, Foreigner and many other legacy acts, Journey now resembles its original incarnation in name only, with Neal Schon the sole founding member and Steve Perry sound-alike Arnel Pineda recruited from a tribute band. And staying faithful to the ’70s/’80s sensibility that spawned them, they tick all the boxes: big power chords and riffs, over-the-top vocals and percussion, and inspirational song titles such as Still Believe in Love, Live to Love Again and United We Stand. It’s everything you’d expect, though lacking any breakout hits in the vein of Don’t Stop Believin’ or Any Way You Want It.
INDIE POP
Vancouver Sleep Clinic, Fallen Paradise
(Believe) ***1/2
You might know Brisbane’s Tim Bettison’s work from such TV series as The Good Doctor, Suits, Vampire Diaries, Arrow and Teen Wolf, or from his support gigs for London Grammar, Daughter and Angus and Julia Stone. It’s indie synth-pop with an atmospheric, ambient quality that recalls Coldplay’s (The Wire, Wanderlust) and Beck’s (The Flow) more recent efforts. Opener Magic is almost Beatlesque in its soaring operatic quality as Bettison’s falsetto gets a workout, while Chimera is a surreal, ambient peak. “Heard there’s a trouble coming/But there ain’t a mountain we can’t move, Let hell and his friends come gunning,” he sings on Who Can Love You Like I Do.
ROCK
L.A. Cobra, Superstition
(Crusader/Golden Robot) **1/2
Speaking of geographical misnomers, these guys are actually from South Africa, and pay tribute to the glam/hair metal genre, channelling ’80s acts from Poison and Def Leppard to Guns N’ Roses. There’s the automatic drumfire of opener Strange Desires and Untamed, while on Inferno frontman Don Cobra sings: “Saints and sinners in this world of winners/Let your conscience guide you cos they can’t control you.” The Star resembles many a motivational anthem of the era – “Push it to the limit, show that you can win it” – while other lyrics can be a little forced: “She’s My Prison without walls/Can’t escape, can’t take calls.”
Originally published as Journey, Vancouver Sleep Clinic, L.A. Cobra: New album reviews
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