Genre: ROCK/HARD ROCK
Released by: D&R Records
Release date: OUT NOW
Line up:
Simon Golaz – Rhythm Guitar and Harmonica,
Luca Senaldi – Drums,
Cedric Pfister – Vocals and bass,
Cal Wymann – Lead guitar,
Tracklist:
- Fast Lane
- Strange Woman
- Without You
- Broken
- Dawn
- Heal
- Give it Time
- Someone I Love
- Get to It
- Back Door Man
- Sugar Rush
It was late October last year when I first heard of the upcoming crowd funding campaign to kick start the production of Daxx & Roxane’s eagerly awaited second album. I confess I was more than a little excited, the follow up seemed like a long time coming, it also seems a long time – too long, since I’ve seen one of their hard rocking, high powered, energy fuelled live sets.
I was instantly taken with this bands initial EP – just four songs showcasing so much talent and potential and even more so with the debut album “Ticket to Rock” which featured 10 back to back killer tracks.
The self titled second album wastes no time in being every bit as addictive as their previous releases, prompting continuous repeat play. Opener “Fast Lane” is a catchy, hard hitting tune which epitomises Daxx & Roxane doing what they do best.
Selecting highlights from this album is a near impossible task. “Strange Woman” is musically and vocally superb, features fantastic harmonies and is indicative of the edge and talent of these musicians. “Broken” offers the initial tease of a more subtle sound before morphing into heavy guitar and drums as does the fantastic instrumental “Dawn”.There is a hiatus at the album’s halfway mark with the noticeably softer and perfectly placed “Heal” which demonstrates stunning music and lyrics, while “Give it Time” features frenzied, spiralling, blistering guitar…
The band tip their hat to the blues with “Get to It”, a classic blues riff, sped up, chewed up and spat out with a distinctly faster and fantastically heavier edge before launching into a cover of “Back Door Man”, written by ‘Willie Dixon’ and performed by ‘Howlin Wolf’ as a slow, rambling blues riff, it was stirred up somewhat by ‘The Doors’ and has been shaken to the core by Daxx & Roxane… heavy on the harmonica, its an interesting choice of cover version for these guys perhaps but they absolutely pull it off.
The finale of this sensational second album is “Sugar Rush”, but not as you know it – if you are fortunate enough to have heard it before. Featured on their EP 4 x 4, it was the first Daxx & Roxane song I ever heard and I still love it. This track was conspicuous by its absence from the debut album and I figured it might turn up a little later down the line, albeit in a slightly different, but equally brilliant version.
As enamoured as I may have been with the debut album I have to conclude that this is definitely on a par with it, as a band Daxx & Roxane are tight, and undoubtedly exhibit versatility but I think the secret to the distinct sound of this four piece may be – ‘don’t mess with the formula’…
We are living in strange and uncertain times and I hope to see Daxx & Roxane back on tour very soon, doing what they do best and showcasing their new ‘wares’ live on stage to fans old and new– in the interim, I will continue to familiarise myself with their latest release, it was definitely worth the wait!
SCORE 10/10
Reviewed by Karen Hetherington
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