Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: FM
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2015
Rating: 4/5
FM are the champions of British AOR. Anyone who’s a bit more into their music will have run into them at least indirectly through Iron Maiden, who covered their hit That Girl back in 1986. After a twelve-year break, FM got back together for a show at the British Firefest in 2007, and two years later they came back to headline it. Those two gigs obviously played a fateful part in the band’s decision to reactivate. From 2010 to 2014 they racked up three excellent new studio albums and two EPs. Since 2009 FM have been creating non-stop again, keeping their creative power and freshness at an extremely high level. At the same time, vocalist Steve Overland also pours himself into solo studio albums, which are likewise marked by a great consistency in quality.
Routine and mileage. FM have both in spades. At their brightest, with their first two albums released in the second half of the eighties, they opened shows for the likes of Tina Turner, Meat Loaf, Foreigner, Gary Moore, Status Quo and even played before Bon Jovi on their ‘Slippery When Wet’ tour. Today the band is considered a kind of overlooked gem (or even a substitute) for what Def Leppard have been totally incapable of delivering since the album »Hyxteria«, or simply don’t want to deliver. The principle of the arrangement mold in the compositions is similar to the one behind Def Leppard’s brightest moments, but it’s also crystal clear that FM are a band with a musical identity and recognizability all their own. If only because of the specifics of the vocal approach brought to their music by Steve Overland’s soul-flavored voice.
The new album, with its 12 new songs, will surely satisfy every long-time fan of the band. Production-wise it has a slight nuance, as it sounds a bit more alive and stripped-down, even compared to the »Rockville« albums, and that comes through especially when Someday I Only Wanna Rock And Roll kicks in, a song that stylistically picks up a whiff of their countrymen Thunder. Otherwise, it’s business as usual. Ultra-melodic, infectious, pompous! The chorus hooks are once again masterfully dressed in layered vocal harmonies surrounding Overland’s lead vocal. The album is carried throughout by outstanding dynamics, in just the right mix of infectious melodies, riff punch and little masterpieces in the shape of harmonic guitar passages and solos in the »mid-eight« sections. In the last few years FM have also liked to reach for a Hammond sound. And then there’s another fantastic performance from Steve Overland, whose velvety voice keeps ripening over the years and only gains in the finer qualities of vocal interpretation. This is a singer who hasn’t lost a single bit of his vocal range in all the years of his career. From the album »Inddescreet« (1986) to today. Overland remains the defining figure in the band’s musical record on the new album too
»Heroes and Villains«, the band’s ninth studio album overall, is no exception when it comes to following in the footsteps of its predecessors! It’s the continuation of the story so successfully told by both »Rockville« albums, released in 2013, and with the new album the band also celebrates its first 30 years! FM keep up their remarkable verve and creative drive, which let’s hope sticks with the band for many more years, with plenty still ahead of its career.
Line-up
Steve Overland – vocals, guitar, backing vocals
Merv Goldsworthy – bass guitar, backing vocals
Pete Jupp – drums, backing vocals
Jem Davis – keyboards, backing vocals
Jim Kirkpatrick – guitar, backing vocals
Production
FM
Track list
1. Digging up the Dirt
2. You’re the Best Thing About Me
3. Life Is a Highway
4. Fire & Rain
5. Incredible
6. Call on Me
7. Cold Hearted
8. Shape I’m In
9. Big Brother
10. Somedays I Only Want to Rock & Roll
11. I Want You
12. Walking with Angels
