Sounding a lot like the Patty Smyth-fronted Eighties band Scandal, Dante Fox recently released Under the Seven Skies, its third album since 1996. But the catchy, straight-ahead pop-rock of "The Last Goodbye," "Hold Out Your Hand" and "Goodbye To Yesterday" gradually gives way to a more progressive sound with the Seventies-ish "Breaking Me Down" and the moody "Lucky One's (Born Tonight In the Setting Sun)", culminating in the nine-minute title track finale – a startling tour de force replete with string arrangements, classic Brain May-inspired guitar lines and backing vocals that wouldn't sound out of place on a symphonic-metal album. Like Smyth, singer Sue Willets has an edgy bite to her delivery but also struggles a bit with pitch issues. She's backed by solid but unremarkable players who seem too comfortable playing mid-tempo rockers and ballads. In fact, listening to Under the Seven Skies, you can't help but wish Dante Fox would move out of its comfort zone and explore more material in the vein of the title track.
Track Listing:
1) The Last Goodbye
2) Firing Guns
3) Hold Out Your Hand
4) Breaking Me Down
5) Goodbye To Yesterday
6) Walking the Line
7) Love Tried to Find You
8) Save Me
9) Lucky One's (Born Tonight In the Setting Sun)
10) Under the Seven Skies