Before I begin, I should start off by saying that I really like this band. They'd released three top notch albums before this and are easily one of my favourite modern rock bands who were recommended to me by a good friend. Their first album, "Rise", was released in 2006 and had a collection of strong Blues Rock tracks that were heavy enough to match Foo Fighters material, featuring some damn fine guitarwork on tracks such as Never Too Late and Come Follow Me.
Their next album, "Everyday Demons", was released three years later and swayed towards more of a Hard Rock sound. As far as awesome album openers go, Demon Eyes is up there with Aces High and Holy Wars...The Punishment Due, and the album also produced the catchy but kickass single On And On. Finally, The Answer gave us "Revival" in 2011 which should be commended alone for containing One More Revival, a hard rockin' should-be classic that any band would be lucky to release as the last track on a final album.
However, it wasn't their final album...although if "New Horizon" bombs in sales, perhaps it should've been. Despite what the album title and cover (a sort of Prog Rock parody you'd find on a Pink Floyd or Dream Theater case) suggest, this isn't so much a new horizon for the band but rather a collection of mediocre tracks that have been stripped of the fire & energy that these Irish rockers had successfully harnessed for their last three efforts.
The title track, New Horizon, starts off nicely and definitely feels like you're in for another heavy installment from the boys. Credit where due, it does have a foot-stompingly good rhythm from James Heatley on drums, a solid solo from Paul Mahon and raw vocals as strong as the band at their best from Cormac Neeson. So far, so good...but that's all it is. Good. There's nothing that wows me just yet, although we're only on track one and it's not exactly a crime to be less than excellent right off the bat.
Leave With Nothin' gives us a smooth flow from Hard Rock to Hard Funk with a guitar riff reminiscent of toned down Rage Against The Machine filler tracks and a bassline that allows Micky Waters to shine in the spotlight for a bit. Once again, the song is good and I'm sure it'll appease fans of heavy Blues who haven't heard the band's previous albums but I can't say I'd want to listen to it again. Mind you, at the same time, I wouldn't complain if someone played it on a pub jukebox...especially if it replaced the usual contemporary dance crap that inexplicably plagues pub jukeboxes.
Track three is Spectacular. No, that's the name of the song, it's called Spectacular. In reality, it's pretty ordinary. Initial reaction is it sounds like a lost track from the 90's Britpop period re-recorded in the 00's with Joe Perry on guitar having quantum leaped from the late 70's. So basically, it's a mishmash of styles from different decades culminating in this song. Usually taking inspiration from lots of sources is a good thing that creates a work of art as close as possible to something original in this day & age but instead, it appears to have created a song that might be good to listen to when it's on but has little repeat value.
Previous records have produced at least one strong track by this point in the album but so far, I've found the songs to be little more than filler. The next one, Speak Now, continues this trend. It's a nice break from the fast rhythm but borders on the line of dreary with an opening similar to songs by The Cure that time and society forgot with good reason. I get the feeling that all of these songs would be a shitton better if witnessed live at a small gig full of Rock fans, provided there was some kind of Wanker Magnet at the door to stop tossers getting in, although that'd rule out Shepherd's Bush Empire as a venue since the staff wouldn't be allowed entrance.
Somebody Else does a swift job of bringing back the foot-stomping beat and rather than write a more melodic song with precise riffs, the band opted to create a track with more of a Garage Rock edge, similar to tracks by bands such as The Hives. Sadly, whilst it's not a dull track, it certainly doesn't have the same spark other ones have had. All in all, I reckon I could give you a condensed review of this album by saying that the majority of songs, whilst not bad by any means, are certainly nothing more than run-of-the-mill Rock songs but sod it, let's truck on anyway. Who knows, maybe this album will pull a Desolation Boulevard and find its feet halfway through.
Concrete is another heavy rocker that plods along until a nifty change in pace around the two & a half minute mark, reminding me of Velvet Revolver's Slither...in a good way! Perhaps I'm not struck by this album because I feel like most of the material has been done before, only a lot better by other bands. Seven tracks in and Call Yourself A Friend gives us our first atypical track. One that isn't particularly heavy or Bluesy. It starts off as the kind of song that fell off the tracklist for an average Snow Patrol album but halfway through, Cormac starts to unleash his inner Steven Tyler with some more powerful vocals. I'd recommend sticking with this track if only for the upbeat change in tempo at the end.
Despite what the title insinuates, Baby Kill Me isn't The Answer getting all moody whilst channeling Morrissey into their music. It's a standard heavy Blues song that could've easily been written for "Rise". I could imagine this song being played during end credits for a 00's action film that got an average of about 55% on Rotten Tomatoes. As uninteresting as this album may come across, I must admit it'd make a decent driving CD due to the faster paced tracks, each with a serrated edge.
Burn You Down gives us more of the same in the form of foot-stomping meets heavy riffing, ultimately leading up to a tidy solo and a neat ending. Your "good" modern Rock song in all its unfiltered and unaltered glory. The last track on the album isn't any different. No really, it's not. It sounds almost exactly the same. Scream A Louder Love doesn't send the album off with a bang or a sensitive whimper. It just says "Fuck it, and AGAIN!" before giving us a spiritual repeat of the last song. However, since I'm reviewing this album from Spotify, I find myself with three more bonus tracks.
Road Less Travelled rumbles in with another Bluesy rhythm and acts as a great opener for the bonus tracks. Probably the second best of the three, since Feel The Fear sounds like a revised version of Concrete that once again fails to take off. Those ascending triplets are good in small doses boys and, even then, you have to really fuckin' nail the tempo! Finally, Real As It Gets is ironically about as good as the album gets, although it's a decent track for the album to end on if only for the lyrical tease of "and it's not over yet" throughout the chorus.
So time to recap "New Horizon". Let's be honest, it's not their best material. This is their Don't Look Back or Afterburner. If these guys suddenly become huge within the next decade, I doubt it'll be because of this album and even then, it's unlikely many tracks from this collection will still be on the live set by the time the band are reaching the end of their career. Lyrically, this album covers the basics of past efforts. Friendship, romance, travelling, the usual Bluesy topics. However, this album seems to have lost the "Last Of The Old Rockers" vibe that this band had carried around with them for each recording.
You might like some of the tracks so I'd recommend it if you're into modern Hard Rock with a Blues edge (or Heavy Blues with a Hard Rock edge, if you want) but maybe lower your expectations if you're already into The Answer and their music. Not to say they're giving a substandard performance, oh no! They're all on top-form and I definitely don't feel like they've peaked creatively.
Despite what I said at the start of this review, I do have confidence that this band will return with another awesome record but sadly, this one is worth no more than a 5/10 for me. The songs are OK but I think I'll be returning to Under The Sky and other belters before revisiting any of these again.
Right, thanks for reading! Hopefully I'll try to get another post out before the end of the year. Maybe I should set myself a target of 1 post every fortnight or something like that, depending on how much time I get for writing these. If you have any feedback, leave it in the comment section and if you enjoyed reading this, please share. Be seeing you!
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