RR Score: 9.0 ROCK FISTS!

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Intro

I can't believe it has been 6 years since the very classy debut First Signal album! Time does fly fast! Harry Hess has been busy during that time though with his solo material, producing and of course Harem Scarem. Now they are back in 2016 and I can't wait to hear it as I love most of what Harry does and the debut First Signal album had some truly memorable songs on there.

Review

The album opens up with the keyboard driven 'Love Run Free'. This is a classy song but doesn't quite pack the punch I was hoping for to open the album. The song definitely has an 80's AOR sound to it and Harry sounds great as always. The second track 'Love Gets Through' has a little more focus on guitar and Harry gives a vocal approach similar to early Harem Scarem days. The chorus has a real melodic singalong feel to it which reminds of the debut album. The guitar solo on this song is great as well! 'Still Pretending' is one of my faves on the album. It is a big ballad that reminds me of the classic Harem Scarem ballads of the early 90s. It really is a beautiful song and Harry sounds fantastic. The chorus is one of the best I've heard this year and it is one of those songs that grows on you as well. I liked it when I first heard it, but the song gets better with every spin.

'Broken' is an interesting song. It starts off sounding like another classy ballad, yet the chorus turns into a full blown modern rock track. The verses are reminiscent of classic 80s AOR, and the chorus has a more modern rock feel. It takes a few spins for it to click, but it works. 'What have I done, what did I say, to make you turn and walk away, I'm not broken'. 'Karma' starts off with keyboards that give me an early Winger vibe. The drums drive the verse along nicely and the song opens up into a pretty cool rock track. 'Minute Of Your Time' again opens up with keyboards before kicking into high gear with a nice guitar solo. This is a really cool song and probably my pick as the best of the album. It is a really good mix of hard rock and melody with a chorus that is pure gold. This song definitely has an early Harem Scarem vibe with the keys mixed in with guitars. 'She Is Getting Away' is another great track and has more of an anthem feel to it with the chorus bringing possibly the biggest rock moment on the album.

'December Rain' is another classy song that reminds of Harem Scarem. The chorus is yet another singalong anthem that will have you humming along to in your head all day after hearing it. 'Show me love, show me pain, everything's gonna be alright, when you cry December Rain's got me through my life'. This is another track where the verses build the song to a huge arena rock chorus. 'Weigh Me In' is another nice little ballad type of song that floats along nicely on a mix of keyboards and guitars. Not as memorable as 'Still Pretending', yet certainly has it's place on the album. 'Pedestal' is a cool hard rock song that is a little different from most of the other tracks on the album in that the verses are more rock and the chorus is more melodic. The lyrics drive home the fact this song is not a love song - 'I was wrong to put you on a pedestal, now you're always looking down on me'. The album closes with 'One Step Over The Line' which definitely has an 80's AOR/hard rock sound. Without being among the best of the tracks on the album, the song is definitely a classy track that has of course another big singalong chorus and ends what is a really solid album from start to finish.

Outro

If you like hard rock or melodic rock, I simply can't see you disliking this album. For me it is a step above the debut album which was very very good. Every chorus is melodic and anthem like, and with Harry on vocals and Darren Smith on back up vocal duty, it really does have an early years Harem Scarem feel to it. The keyboards are prominent without taking over, and the music is a real classy mix of hard rock and AOR. Harry sounds fantastic too. In fact, between this and the latest Harem Scarem album 'Thirteen', he sounds as good as he ever has. This is a must buy if you love Harem Scarem or classic 80's hard rock. Great stuff!