BALANCE - review added 4th March 2009
Album Review: Equilibrium (2009)
For fans of: hard rock... and keyboard domination
Ever heard of Balance? I hadn't until this. Remarkably, they formed at the start of the 1980's and even enjoyed Billboard chart success. They may have only produced a couple of albums and, in name at least, disappeared without trace, but they are now back for another bite of the (rock) apple.
Balance is Peppy Castro, Bob Kulick (yes, THE Bob Kulick), Doug Katsaros and Brett Chaseen. Several other performers, including Bob's brother Bruce, make an appearance on the album.
The band play a poppy, spunky rock little changed from their first couple of releases. This is music for summer pool parties and chilled driving with the hood down, elbow on the door and fingers tapping the steering wheel. Oh, and the cover was designed by Carl-Andre Beckston - the guy who did the recent Coldspell album. Somebody give this man a huge bucket of water. He's on fire...!
'Twist Of Fate' gets the album off to a Journey-esque start. The combination of keyboards and throbbing guitars have plenty of character, and the chorus is buoyant and memorable. 'Breathe' is similarly urgent, and is again driven by a fanciful keyboard hook.
'Old Friends' has a vintage feel to it reminiscent of tracks from many moons ago. The sound is modern, but the words and instrumentation sound as familiar as a well worn pair of jeans. In stark contrast, 'Look What You've Done' has a Grand Illusion style pomp thing going on that can't fail to put a smile in your eyes. Doug Katsaros again dominates the character sections with his keyboard musings. The sound is fantastic and harks to the great/very dodgy works of the mid to late 80's.
'Crazy Little Suzie' has a grinding guitar sound with, what can only be described as plinky-plink keyboards layered overhead. The chorus is utterly fantastic. 'Liar' is just as good... if not better. The verses are so sing-along it hurts, and the chorus again takes your breath away. Full respect to the drum sounds on 'Liar'. It's a very difficult song to hear without tapping at least half your body to.
'Who You Gonna Love' is a bouncy, fun effort that's halfway between a kids' pop song and a rock ballad. Theoretically it should sound like two squirrels having a fight, but it's actually as contagious as a dirty laugh. Peppy Castro's voice does fantastic things on this track. His vocals are subtle yet appealing throughout the album but come alive on the chorus of this track. The guitars also sound gobsmackingly fantastic!
'Forever' sounds like it was co-written by Jim Peterik. That theatrical feel oozes through it's pores like icky sweat on a teenager. The theatrics continue with the final song, 'Rainbow Ends'. Parts of the track sound like an escapee from a Tim Rice spectacular. Whether that is a good or bad thing depends on your own tastes. I like it though.
Equilibrium, at first listen, has a lightweight sound caught in the bridging area between pop and hard rock. I thought the album was shallow and boring to start with but, you know what? I can't get enough of it now. The songs are huge, the choruses sublime. It's nice to hear an album with such a strong and unique keyboard presence too. All the performances are outstanding, but Doug Katsaros really does take the biscuit and dip it in his amply flavoursome coffee.
Check out... The cover artwork. Head to http://www.monowasp.com/ to see even more brilliant work.
Track List:
1. Twist Of Fate
2. Breathe
3. Old Friends
4. Look What You've Done
5. Winner Takes All
6. Crazy Little Suzie
7. Liar
8. Walk Away
9. Who You Gonna Love
10. Forever
11. Rainbows End
Label: Frontiers Records
