Released By : Self Released
Genre : Hard Rock
Link : http://www.myspace.com/hopscotchmusic
Tracklist:
1. Straight From The Heart
2. Big Balls
3. Thank You
4. L.A. Dream
5. Souls On Fire
6. Blinded By The Shine
7. Surrender
8. Up To You
9. Such A Pity
10. With The Devil
11. Explosion In My Brain
Unsigned German hard rockers HOPSCOTCH have got a pretty good thing going on here on their self-released debut album STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART, but after spending a little bit of time with I feel like they still have a bit of a ways to go if they are going to push to reach greater heights as a band.
That’s not to say that I didn’t like the album, actually for the most part STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART is an enjoyable rock album, but there’s a few elements that didn’t very well with me. The band play a punkified version of dirty hard rock which is closest compared to a band like MOTORHEAD and I’d even add a band like TURBONEGRO is there too. When they hit full boar hard rock mode it sounds great and in the clutches vocalist Marcus actually has a set of pipes that remind me of the almighty LEMMY. His tonal phrasing is a bit different to LEMMY though, likely due to his German heritage, but overall that is the kind of vibe he adds to the album. Where I had a little bit of problem though is in a couple of tracks where the band tone down their approach and Marcus goes for a more clean vocal style, this is the part that I feel lets the band down the most as the vocals don’t really sound that good. See, LEMMY doesn’t have what anybody would call a great voice either, but when MOTORHEAD are in full swing his vocal style fits perfectly, this is much the same thing in regard to HOPSCOTCH too, a band that sound their best when they do the simple things and just rock-out.
I’m all for bands experimenting and trying to add variation into an album, but I also think that when you are a band in it’s early stages, the best thing you can do is find what works best for you and then just work on finessing that element first. In HOPSCOTCH’s case, their strong suite in when they are charging out at full punk rock speed and I really feel this is the are the band need to focus on more when they release another album down the track. I can’ really recommend the slower, cleaner parts of STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART, but probably seven out of the eleven tunes on here are worth a look-in if you’re a fan of no-frills dirty hard rock, an admirable debut that shows a band that is close to finding their groove.
Written By ZeeZee
Rating : 7/10
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