A female rock singer that sounds like Lita Ford, Vixen, Pat Benatar, Fiona, Saraya and Allanah Myles. Introducing British vocalist Chez Kane. I never thought this genre would return to the music world. Kane embodies that leather clad beauty from the 1989 time machine. She sings like a woman determined to bring back this car cruisin' format with the top down and the speakers blaring. The album was written, arranged and produced with the help of Crazy Lixx frontman Danny Rexon. What they've achieved here is nothing less than stunning. All of those frowned upon attributes like melody and fat sounding keyboards are front and center. But it's Kane who delivers the goods on every track.
"Better Than Love" is a brilliant album opener loaded with great hooks and a killer sax part that feels very Eddie Money circa 1988. "All of It" rocks, stomps and hollers it's way through big hooks and choruses. It's as if Mutt Lange and Richie Zito are co-producing but it's Rexon doing his retrofitting on every song. "Rocket On The Radio" sounds like Poison and Journey at times. There are so many great chord changes and singable lines that you'll immediately get wrapped up in the songs. "Get It On" opens with a full chorus of vocals combining a Def Leppard and Vixen strategy. The hooks are immediately lovable. "Too Late For Love" is the song Vixen wish they could have written. A perfect build up and an absolute radio juggernaut if we actually had melodic rock terrestrial radio in the year 2021.
"Defender of The Heart" is this great mid-tempo semi-ballad that takes this into the pure pop category. This would have topped the top 40 in 1987. The songwriting is all stellar on this project. With so many used up melodies out there, it's a wonder that Rexon and company were able to deliver so many original songs here. "Ball and Chain" is half Bon Jovi and half Vixen. Kane's gutsy vocals defy logic and along with the insane choruses make this pure time travel material. "Midnight Rendezvous" is more of an AOR rock track with Kane pushing the boundaries vocally. The guitars on this one are like a freight train on both the rhythm parts and the solo. "Die In The Name of Love" is a sweet late night top 40 track with superb production especially on the keyboards and vocals. This record is so damn catchy it's almost criminal.
"Dead End Street" is the last track on this record and it's super close to being a power ballad. The chord progressions and mood of the song put you in a time trance like you've heard this before yet it's brand new material. This is the best album I've heard in 2021. There are no duds or misfires here. For the fan of melodic rock when it was truly melodic.
Album rating 9.9
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