After some disappointing releases such as "Gbg2LA" or 2011's "Never Too Late" the Swedish guitarist, founder,leader and main songwriter Oz Osukaru aka Oscar Petersson is about to demonstrate his hard working perseverance, blind determination and his stubborn focus but also his obvious ability to renew itself in the adversity... The new OSUKARU full length album entitled "Transition" is now available and this time at least, the marketing description is on par with the music quality!

This silver eleven tracks CD, comes with an exclusive bonus song, as always a good-looking 20-pages booklet illustrated by a few cool pictures, and it contains some special appearances by some special guests musicians from Swedish fellows players acting in the ranks of high profile groups as the sublime MISS BEHAVIOR or OVERDRIVE/CONSTANCIA, notably the mostly excellent Janne Stark on guitar!

"Transition" even holds at the track number nine "Mafia Rules" (updated version - originally recorded for the 2013's  "Triumphant" disc) a guest vocal cameo by Jules Millis, a former member of the great and underrated Australian Hair Metal band WHITE WIDDOW, now fronting brilliantly, the famous underground yet legendary band TIGERTAILZ.

Right after placing the platter onto the CD player and pushing the play button, immediately you'll be transported in a time capsule, indeed "Transition" is working like a time & space teleportation beam straight to L.A. in the spring of 1983...The Hair Metal revival elements, the melodic sparkling extravaganza and the retro AOR typical colours are everywhere in quantity, the multi layered backing vocal harmonies are the norm here, even the constant use of a lead Saxophone its the absolute proof of this fact (particulary smart on "Play")!

Another particularity is the fact that the band OSUKARU features two lead singers Mr Fredrik Werner and Miss Cecilia Camuii, both are in share of the vocal duties in the regular 80's fashion : no confrontation here, both are taking turns on lead Vocals, both offering homogenous harmonized parts, and even from time to time some subtle duets ("Arrows").

The last part of the album is more or less set in a recycling re-recording concept, where some of their older songs has received a new refreshing makeover...Finally the rendition of songs like "Promised Land" or "Out Of Touch" are in coherence with the new ambitious method of songwriting or the necessity required by the rules of this noble style !

In fact, I believe that the AOR genre can't deal with sound approximations, and can't stands with mediocre production and it revealed the eventual weakness of the players more than any other style... This time this technical aspect is flawless!

My enthusiasm should be tempered by the relative facility of some arrangements and gimmicks, most of all the predictable or too formulaic aspect of some cuts ("Edge of A Broken Heart" good but as ordinary as its title suggest)... First-class AOR wannabes perfectly set in a conformation of the professional standards exigencies!

Anyway, I don't know if it's a transitional release but this is their best work so far!