Sweden's Alyson Avenue's claim to fame is that their former lead singer Anette Olzen went on to replace Tarja Turunen in Nightwish back in 2007. Though they've been sound since the late 80's, the band didn't release their first album till 2000, and this latest Changes is their first with new singer Arabella Vitanc, who recently replaced Olzen. In addition to Vitanc, the band is comprised of Niclas Olsson – keyboards, Thomas Löyskä – bass, Tony Rohtla – guitars, and Fredrik Eriksson – drums. Alyson Avenue play a style that is firmly in the melodic rock/metal mold, chock full of catchy hooks, crunchy guitar riffs, solid rhythms, and ethereal keyboards, perfect for those that miss the sounds of the late 80's and early 90's.
Honestly, though Changes isn't the most original album you'll ever hear, it's still a lot of fun to listen to. Images of Heart and Lana Lane comes up on tunes like "Liar", "Changes", "Will I Make Love", and "Into the Fire", each one dripping with memorable melodies & choruses, plus some sweet & tasty guitar work. Rohtla has that European guitar style down pat, as his crunchy riffs and blazing solos are all over this record, and paired up with Olsson's sweet keyboards and Vitanc's soaring vocals, make for a winning formula. It's hard not to get fully enveloped by a tune like "Amazing Day", with its catchy choruses and fist pumping arrangement, and "I'll Cry For You" just reminds of a simpler time, when driving around in your car with the windows and top down crankin' the tunes was all you cared about doing.
If you're not into the whole 80's/90's melodic rock thing, then Changes probably won't be for you, but if you have an affinity for that style, there's a lot to like about this CD. Funny thing is, there's nothing Swedish sounding about this album, and you can easily imagine that Alyson Avenue would have hit it big here in the US if they had released this CD back in 1988. Good stuff!
Track Listing
1. Liar
2. Will I Make Love
3. Changes
4. Amazing Day
5.Don't Know If Love Is Alive
6. Fallen
7. Into The Fire
8. I Will Be Waiting
9. I'll Cry For You
10. Somewhere
11. Always Keep On Loving You
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