String Fever
Electric Guitars
•
June 6, 2016
Well, I must admit that they have the most generic band name I have seen in a very long time. I was very apprehensive at the beginning to be perfectly honest. I was not expecting much but this album surprised me in a lot of ways. The production was pretty good and a lot of their songs are quite diverse.
They can do straight up Rock and Roll reminiscent of legends like JIMI HENDRIX, STEVIE RAY VAUGHN, VAN HALEN and AC/DC (on "String Fever", "Let it Rock" and on "Running Out of Time") but on other songs they also delve into genres like Southern Rock and sound an awful like LYNYRD SKYNYRD ("White Flag").
This band is from Denmark, which is something I would not have figured. They sound very American! The influences of the band are straight from the 70's and 80's Rock scene. The vocals may be the weakest point of the band; they sounds like a stripped down version of CHRIS CORNELL, though you don't have that raw emotion and that acrimony associated with him.
Nonetheless, the vocals do fit very well with the rest of the music. If I could compare this band to any other band it would be the now defunct GYPSYHAWK; a very guitar oriented band with a lot of influences from the forefathers of Guitar Rock. They also have some Blues influences, as on "Follow Your Heart", which reminded me a lot of COLIN JAMES - a very important Blues Rocker here in Canada.
The use of the good old Talk-Box was a very nice touch (PETER FRAMPTON represent!) on "The Man From Outer Space" and "She Wants My Guitar". The latter song is very funny and there are plenty of sexual innuendos in the lyrics. I think this song should translate very well live on stage!
Two of the weakest songs on the album are the very commercially driven "Girlfriend" and "The Thinner The Eyebrows The Crazier The Woman". The aformentioned "Girlfriend..." could have been a mid 90's or early 2000's commercial hit from bands like JIMMY EAT WORLD and dare I say BLINK 182. It's a poor choice of a song unfortunately. As to the other songs, this could play on Classic Rock Stations around North America like CHOM in Montreal or Q107 in Toronto. It sounds like some RIVAL SONS and even if it's pretty commercial, it's decent enough.
If you like straight up Rock and Roll with no compromise, this is the band for you. Even with a subpar vocalist, it's still a pretty good album with some wicked guitar licks that make you think of SANTANA. Overall, a solid effort from the boys from Denmark.
7 / 10
Good
Songwriting
Musicianship
Memorability
Production
"String Fever" Track-listing:
- String Fever
- White Flag
- Running Out of Time
- Let It Rock
- Girlfriend
- Day Off
- She Wants My Guitar
- Follow Your Heart
- Finally Me
- The Thinner The Eyebrows The Crazier The Woman
- The Man From Outer Space
Electric Guitars Lineup:
Soren Andersen - Guitar & Vocal
Mika Vandborg - Guitar & Vocal
Peter Kjobsted - Bass & Backing Vocal
Morten Hellborn - Drums & Backing Vocal
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