Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Maxx Explosion
Label: Kivel Records
Released: 2013
Running time: 51:22
Rating: 3/5
Even though it’s been a year since its release, this album is definitely worth at least a quick write-up. Anyone who knows House Of Lords knows that alongside James Christian the lineup is rounded out by Jimi McCarvill on bass, Jimi Bell on guitar and BJ Zampa on drums. Subtract House Of Lords boss James Christian from that lineup and what do you get? Birds without a nest. Nope, not even that. You get the band Maxx Explosion. And with it, its debut »Forever«.
McCarvill, Bell and Zampa have played a major part in House Of Lords for a good few recent years, carrying out the tasks James Christian hands them. Bell and Zampa have been on Christian’s team since 2006. Over those years the guys have forged real buddy bonds, held together of course by a similar understanding and feel for that magic called music. If it wasn’t clear earlier, the shared jams in studios, at rehearsals, or on stage in the middle of an actual gig confirmed it. Starting a new band was therefore a no-brainer.
The album »Forever« doesn’t hide its big melodic accessibility and catchiness, which in most cases lays itself bare in ultra-melodic, seductive chorus hooks that take the lead in the songs. They’re generously backed up, of course, by vocal harmonizing, a huge hallmark of House Of Lords’ musical identity. An inherited thing. Actually, a transplanted one. Christian obviously taught the guys plenty of useful stuff during their years of service in House Of Lords. Arranging gives them no trouble whatsoever.
An important difference that stylistically sets Maxx Explosion apart from the familiar House Of Lords arranging recipe is a much livelier, almost live-sounding production, above all the clear, noticeable rattle of McCarvill’s bass, which is far more reined in on House Of Lords records. Likewise, Bell’s riffs »foam« far more rawly and unbridled in distorted chopping. Under the Maxx Explison banner the trio takes far more room to maneuver, pulling off the odd bit of solo acrobatics that leans toward the band’s group jam (the instrumental Demon Wheel), something that isn’t allowed under James Christian’s conductor’s baton in House Of Lords.
In this setup the weaker link is of course McCarvill’s singing, which is less charismatic in terms of vocal color, yet in its basic approach is exemplary, solid and decent, holding its own against the given »melodic curves« in both the verses and the atmospheric crescendos of the choruses. But this factor is well disguised under the makeup of the trio’s top-notch playing, and in the choruses it ducks one way or another under the arrangement’s blanket of multi-part vocal harmonies.
Despite the bigger helping of noise from the raw sound in the production, as well as a larger dose of solo escapades compared with House Of Lords’ current style, Maxx Explosion’s basic premise is still melodic compactness and catchiness, which the album »Forever« delivers full-bloodedly across its running time. The bombast element is also clearly front and center, a sensible family tie with House Of Lords. There are a shade too many songs, so the only serious flaw is that you occasionally get the feeling that some motifs get duplicated in the arrangements. Ten songs would have been more than enough for this album. If you’re a House Of Lords fan, you’ll find enough family ties on this album for it to become interesting and instantly likable.
To put it quickly and in a downright bizarre caricature, the album »Forever« is the »ugly duckling« of the House Of Lords discography. Above all much cruder and more boyishly cheeky, with far less control and more free-spirited limb-flailing. And what matters most in rock ‘n’ roll: it sends a far bigger bag of decibels into the room!
Lineup
Chris McCarvill – bass, keyboards, vocals
Jimi Bell – guitar, keyboards
BJ Zampa – drums
Production
Maxx Explosion
Track list
1. Devils Locomotive (4:36)
2. Falling Away (3:58)
3. Cross Your Heart (3:59)
4. Don’t Wanna Break (4:49)
5. Love Is a Nightmare (3:40)
6. Rise (3:49)
7. End of the Line (3:33)
8. Demon Wheel (2:00)
9. Cant Stop Falling in Love (4:36)
10. Beat Around the Bush (3:54)
11. Famous (4:05)
12. Suicide Door (3:42)
13. Forever (4:40)
