Artist : Fargo

Album : Strangers D'Amour

Release Date : 25-06-2021

Added : 30-07-2021

Album of the playlist 2021 : Melodic rock/hard-rock albums from the 1st half of 2021

'Fargo' is a German hard-rock formation that I add to the rock/hard-rock/metal melodic playlist of the first semester 2021 releases because, after a first listen, the compositions of this new album released at the end of June 2021 are all very accessible with a series of melodic hits that one tames immediately. The band is not a new one because they exist since the early 1970s with a debut album, 'Wishing Well' released in 1979 and 'Strangers D'Amour' is their 6th studio recording and the second after their reunion in 2017, 'Constellation' dating from 2018.

'Rain of Champagne' opens the debates on a straightforward and catchy track quite classic but so effective and which whets our appetite for the future with, 'Gimme That Bone', a new rock jewel which gives esire to move and which should work fine live. Follows 'Closer to the Sun' in a more measured atmosphere then, 'Time' with its slow tempo makes us swing to the rhythm of a new melody that is simple but still as effective. What follows alternates between catchy and mid-tempo hits with, in the first category, the addictive 'Mary Says' which sets in motion the machine to tap your foot or 'Law of the Jungle' which has nothing to envy to its predecessor and in the second category, 'Dear Miss Donna Vetter' or 'No Reason To Cry' quite close to American southern rock or even 'Why Don't You' closer this time to ’Dire Straits’ without forgetting the beautiful ballad 'Homesick' that we want to repeat on a loop.

In summary, the Germans of 'Fargo' are releasing a very endearing album that takes us back decades with effective melodies that recall the best of those years and 'Strangers D'Amour' should appeal to a whole audience loving rock and melodic hard-rock of the 70s/80s which has now become a timeless style outside of all fashions...

Line Up / Musicians

Peter Ladwig (Vocal, Guitar), Tommy Newton (Guitar), Peter "Fargo" Knorn (Bass), Franky Tolle (Drums) + Guests : Hanno Grossmann (Guitar), Torsten Lüderwaldt (Keybords)