Confess: Haunters

One of the many bands to come out of Sweden recently (and there have been many), the sleaztastic Confess are one of the few who really suggested they might break through to a wider audience. The sheer, authentic energy behind their Jail debut album marking it out as an unexpected highlight of 2014. Haunters is the band's follow up, expectations now needing to be met and standards maintained, if not bettered. The first thing that hits you – other than the pointless intro "Irony" – is that things have been smoothed somewhat, keyboards now much higher in the mix and the edgy attitude that made the debut feel so fresh, no matter how many times you heard it, tempered. Thankfully, however, as the first song proper kicks in, "Strange Kind Of Affection" pins you to the wall, the meaty riff and chanting vocals more refined than anticipated and yet still grabbing the attention and prepared to hold it hostage for a long time to come.

Unfortunately the press blurb doesn't reveal who produced the album, but they did a top notch job, gang backing vocals a joyous feature of Haunters, as the temptation to holler along to the gritty "We Are The Rats" proves impossible to resist, while "Animal Attraction" showcases the biting guitar solo from Blomman in all its glory. Yet, even in a style where you can never have enough of a good thing, packing Haunters full with fourteen selections can at times feel like over egging things, the slower "I Won't Die" not quite as ear grabbing as it should be. Although the voice and synth only "Tonight" stands up surprisingly well, John Elliot displaying a fine set of pipes in a setting much more controlled than those he usually frequents. However Confess came here to rock and while "Let The Show Go On" verges much closer to AOR than this band have before, their melodies bite deep and stand up to repeat scrutiny.

"Vittring", which closes the album out, is the one song that really pulsates with the same heart as the Jail debut, everything that's long made Michael Monroe the evergreen sleaze monster he is, packed into one three minute power party punch. With "Haunting You" again polishing things up and "Talia" adding a slight electronica edge, there's no denying that Confess have evolved more than we might have expected in just a couple of years. We can only hope they don't carry on too much further down that road and lose the essence of what made them so exciting in the first place. The one vital element that's definitely remained untouched however, is their ability to write damn good songs, and ultimately that's what makes Haunters the excellent album it is.

Track Listing
1. Irony
2. Strange Kind of Affection
3. Stand Our Ground
4. We Are the Rats
5. Haunting You
6. Talia
7. How Could I Let You Go
8. Animal Attraction
9. I Won't Die
10. Lady of Night
11. Tonight
12. Let the Show Go On
13. Eye to Eye
14. Vittring

Added: December 16th 2017
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Confess on Facebook
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Language: english

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