From their EPK, “Swedish AOR group HYDRA returns on September 20th, 2024 with their sophomore release “ReHydration.” With a stable line-up, the band still consists of long-time friends from the Swedish rock scene, i.e. songwriter/musician Henrik Hedström, drummer/producer Daniel Flores, bassist Jonny Trobro, and singer Andi Kravljaca. HYDRA once again delivers a high-class AOR release with some obvious influences from the Westcoast genre as well.” AOR, or album-oriented rock, was a genre that essentially started in the late 1970’s with bands like JOURNEY, and BOSTON, and flourished in the 1980’s with the myriad of Hard Rock and Glam bands, most of whom originated in Los Angeles.

Of course, Grunge killed the movement in America in the early 1990’s but the scene continued overseas, especially in Sweden, who are known for their love of Pop music. One of the main challenges in composing this kind of music is finding a hook, riff, and chorus that hasn’t been done before, so that you can separate yourself from the thousands of other bands out there trying to do the same thing. I mean, how can you come up with another “Round and Round” riff, or another “Don’t Stop Believing” chorus, and so on? You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but you do have to find a way to make your music interesting. Let’s get to some of the best cuts here and see how HYRDA measures up.

The heavily keyboard laden “We Belong” is a clear winner, with its heavy and rough edge thick with melodies, and its massive chorus. “Still the same” has a tender edge to it, and the vocals shine brightly. “Made up stories” has a rough and tumble sound, still high with emotion, and the keyboards are great. So far, the band’s melodies are smart and catchy. “Clown without a circus” is another winner, with strong hooks and charming melodies. I get a DANGER DANGER vibe in this one. “Two of a kind” is also thick with emotion and has a very catchy chorus. “Out in the cold” has a strong yearning quality to go along with its energetic pace and rough riff. The final highlight, “Me minus you” closes the album on a sad point, but still has plenty of harmonies.

In sum, HYDRA is different than a lot of AOR bands out there, due to their liberal use of keyboards along with the guitars, and much of their music on the album is expressive and deep with emotional layers. In my opinion, the are closer to JOURNEY than RATT, but that is neither here nor there. The album has plenty of big hooks, and I can’t imagine fan of the genre who would not like this album.