Released By : Frontiers Records
Genre : Melodic Rock
Links : http://www.poodles.se/
Tracklist:
01. I Want It All
02. Until Our Kingdom Falls
03. Father to a Son
04. I Believe in You
05. Cuts Like a Knife
06. As Time Is Passing By
07. Love Is All
08. Your Time Is Now
09. Action!
10. Bring Back the Night
11. Vampire’s Call
12. Into the Quiet Night
13. Don’t Tell Me
Many have dismissed THE POODLES as a serious contender in the hard rock landscape since their debut album in 2006. Well, they really brought it on themselves when you think about it… For starters “THE POODLES”, what sort of moniker is that? Surely not one you would use if you wanted to be taken seriously. Then there was the first album that sounded pretty good but with the glammy backbone in the sound it seemed more like to a tongue-in cheek tribute to an era rather than a real musical statement.
For those that have hesitated delving into what this band has to offer for whatever reason though, now may just well be the right time to jump on board. It’s been a gradual evolution sure, but now with PERFORMOCRACY, the band have transformed themselves from Scandi sleazy party rock imitators into a die-hard ass-kickin’ melodic hard rock band and have shown that they have the chops to hang with the big boys. The production here is bombastic and just sounds massive when pumped up loud, the songwriting is world-class and a perfect example of just how potent the typical melodic rock formula can still sound when given a very slight modern twist, the guitars sound fantastic and now is the time to recognize vocalist Jakob Samuel as one of the best melodic rock vocalists of the modern generation. He has a multi-octave range and a bluesy swagger that reminds of David Coverdale and Jorn Lande, and his contribution to this album is simply perfect.
Where do I start with the actual songs….. Well, put it this way…. Good luck finding a dud amongst them, yes some are better than others but even the lesser tracks are better than half of the stuff that melodic rock fans get offered up these day. Opening tune I WANT IT ALL immediately shows the growth this band has gone through and if you play this song straight after anything from their first two albums the difference in class and quality is totally evident. UNTIL OUR KINGDOM FALLS is like a pomp influenced WHITESNAKE tune with PRETTY MAIDS influences too. I BELIEVE IN YOU is a slightly more modern sounding tune with massive gang vocals. AS TIME IS PASSING sounds like a better version of the sort of stuff that BON JOVI has been making a killing with over the last decade and a half or so. In another interesting twist for the band LOVE IS ALL draws on U2 for inspiration, especially in the EDGE sounding guitar work in the verses. ACTION is one of my favourite cuts of the album and sounds like a mix between H.E.A.T and JORN. BRING BACK THE NIGHT actually has a slight NICKELBACK sound to it in the guitar riff department but is simply so, so much better that anything Chad and his lackeys have been able to create so far. If you can get your hands on the version with DON’T TELL ME as the bonus track it’s worth the extra effort as it really is one of the best songs on the album and is a shame that people that get the regular version are going to miss out on it.
PERFORMOCRACY is the work of a band in full-swing with plenty of momentum and if this is sign of things to come then the melodic rock landscape better prepare for a bit of a shake-up. To see how far THE POODLES have come in such a short time is pretty crazy really, and if you are a fan of bands like TREAT, PRETTY MAIDS, T.N.T, WIGWAM and H.E.A.T then now’s the time to jump on board because PERFORMOCRACY is clearly one of the best melodic rock albums of the year.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 9/10