WHITE WIDDOW - review added 28th October 2010
Album Review: White Widdow (self-titled) (2010)
For fans of: Hard Rock... and the opposite of a spider
Originating in 2008 in Melbourne, Australia, White Widdow - Jules Millis on vocals, Enzo Almanzi on guitar, Trent Wilson on bass, Xavier Millis on keys, and Jim Naish on drums - was formed with a vision to write and perform 1980s influenced hard rock and AOR inspired by Survivor, Treat, Dokken, Bon Jovi and more.
In 2009 the band released a free digital-only EP...and next on the discography is their first LP. Just like the recently reviewed Stratosphere album on Escape Music, this album was mixed and mastered by the clearly very busy Martin Kronlund at JM Studios in Sweden. To be fair the sound quality is rather splendid.
i'm not 100% convinced about the songwriting and performances however. The musicianship is good without being exceptional - save some of the guitar playing which borders on brilliant. The vocals straddle a line between agreeable and indifferent - although Jules' voice sounds pleasant, it occasionally wanders off-key. He undeniably trades a percentage of technical ability for raw charisma. On the live stage I'm sure he'll be brilliant. On this record, the jury is still out.
Song-wise, there are big moments and forgettable filler-tracks. The opener 'Tokyo Rain' has plenty of retro charm. Same with 'Broken Hearts Won't Last Forever'. It's been done a thousand times before but still makes for an enjoyable listen. 'We've Got The Wings' is both ridiculously cheesy and sublime. Go figure. The heavier 'Cross To Bare' doesn't do a great deal for me. Same goes for the slower 'Don't Fail Me Now'. The keyboard-led 'Spirit Of Fire' is more interesting. 'Shadows Of Love' has some of the album's best performances, but I'm not sure if I rate it as a whole or not. 'One More Day' slips by pleasantly without making any sort of impression, as does 'Change Of Passion'. Final track 'Fire & Ice' has some nice guitar work but, again, leaves no lasting impression.
In summation...
White Widdow play by the 1980s book with aplomb here, but they don't do enough of interest to stand out from the crowd. It's not bad, just too anonymous. I've heard the album about 20 times now and I still don't remember that much of it.
Check out... The opener.
Track List:
01. Shoukai (Intro)/Tokyo Rain
02. Broken Hearts Won't Last Forever
03. We've Got The Wings
04. Cross To Bare
05. Don't Fail Me Now
06. Spirit Of Fire
07. Shadows Of Love
08. One More Day
09. Change Of Passion
10. Fire & Ice
Label: AOR Heaven
Artist's website(s): White Widdow | MySpace | Facebook
