At the same time as the Swedes of 'Grand Design' (see here), and after 'United' in 2017, the Canadians of 'Harem Scarem' are back with a new album 'Change the World'. And it is true that if we remove all the Scandinavian hard-rock melodic bands, there is not much left in this style and 'Harem Scarem' is one of the exceptions that confirm the rule (there are others like the very good project 'Waiting From Monday' or 'Decarlo' or 'Revolution Saints' to name only albums reviewed since the start of the year), since Canadians have been releasing albums for 30 years now and this last album is already the 15th.
From the outset, there are 4 energetic and catchy compositions available to us with melodies that we immediately tame and that remain etched in our heads and brilliant guitar solos. After this energetic start, 'Mother of Invention' is the first break in the form of a beautiful ballad with a memorable chorus, then, 'No Man's Land' is a mid-tempo always as melodic and quieter, then 'In the Unknown', even if we have the impression of already heard, gives us an irresistible desire to take up the refrain. The rest of the album is on the same level with an over-vitaminized 'Riot in My Head', the 2nd ballad 'No Me Without You' that many melodic rock bands would envy, the catchy 'Fire & Gasoline' and the album ends with 'Swallowed By The Machine' which could very well have been the subject of a single.
In short, melodic hard-rock is doing well and the Canadians of 'Harem Scarem' prove it again with this magnificent 'Change the World' and taking into account the quality of the albums already released since the beginning of the year 2020 in this style, I wouldn't want to be the one to decide which will be album of the year... | |
