RADIO SILENCE - review added 16th July 2009
Album Review: Whose Skin Are You Under Now (2009)
For fans of: Hard Rock... and rockingly soft music
Alistair Gordon, the man behind Radio Silence, has been working in the music industry for 30 years. Not only is he a successful singer, songwriter, musician and producer in his own right, he has worked with artists such as Russell Watson, Lionel Richie, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Lisa Stansfield, The Average White band, Mick Jones, and Tony Banks. They may not all be rock, but this man clearly has mahoosive cojones to be getting gigs like these.
Whose Skin Are You Under Now is his 3rd album using the Radio Silence name and follows on from 2001's Sirens. Featured on the album are Alistair on vocals, Martin Kronlund on guitars, Imre Daun on drums and Mats Olausson on keyboards.
The sound is rockingly soft with hints of pop and blues overlaid on a mostly bouncy rhythmic structure. The instruments are bright and clear and Alistair's voice is jolly good. He won't send shivers down your spine with his vocal prowess but he's discreetly smooth and suited to this style of rock.
'Hand to Mouth' kicks things off in a relaxed but rocking style. Alistair sounds similar to Peppy Castro (from the recent Balance album). 'Mosquito' immediately sets off on a more spunky mission. The lyrics are well written and the chorus has more than a hint of the Poodles about it. Cool track. 'Wall Of Silence' is pleasant. It never truly gets anywhere and comes across more or less like a really good 5 second concept spread over 4 minutes.
'Staring At The Sun' is a mid paced easy going track with a pumping bass line and chilled singing. It's surprisingly engaging and builds to a memorable chorus. 'Somethin Going On' follows a similar path whilst 'One Day At A Time' treads an entirely different road. It's akin to a love song, but without all the typical rock ballad paraphernalia. It's a really sweet, if unusual song, and it has an air of long-term classic about it. Definitely a contender for best track on the album.
'Another World' is a sparking pop-rich number laden with catchy hooks and sing along moments. It's afflicted by the remnants of understated calm that haunts the first half of the album, but shrugs off the worst of it . 'Shotgun Love' is as bounding as its title suggests. It's one of the more rocking tracks and belts along in places. Alistair sounds expecially good and, along with the contagious rhythms, helps make this another of the better tracks.
'Heart Of Hearts' lifts the tempo with an energetic rhythm that makes you want to smile from ear to belly button. The chorus is massively sing along and fun. You'd have to say the song has chick-flick filmscore written all over it. 'Anyway The Wind Blows' is an almost exceptional ballad. The second half of the track is fantastic, although the song takes an age to get going. With a small rejig this could be an absolute leviathon. The final entry is a folky reproduction of the Lennon/McCartney song 'You've Got to Hide Your Love Away'. It's a nice if subdued way to close the album.
This isn't music that's going to set the world on fire - frankly it would struggle to light a BBQ if you gave it a blowtorch and a bucket of petrol. The first half especially struggles to get going - it's simply too nice for it's own good. Fortunately the second half raises the game and, overall, there are quite a few songs with huge long-term potential. On balance this is a good album with beautiful production and excellent performances, but the not-so-brilliant parts hold back the brilliant ones from superstardom.
Check out... The disparity between how good some songs are and how, not bad, but overly sweet others are.
Track List:
1. Hand to Mouth
2. Mosquito
3. Wall of Silence
4. Staring at the sun
5. When the lights go down
6. Somethin going on
7. One day at a time
8. Another World
9. Shotgun love
10. Heart of hearts
11. Anyway the wind blows
12. Hide your love away
Label: Escape Music
Artist's website(s): Alistair Gordon
