Artist: Harem Scarem
Label: Vespa Music
Release: 2007
Few melodic hard rock bands today can boast the kind of consistency that Canada’s Harem Scarem can! The new album “Human Nature”, with its telling cover of a bloke walking down the railway tracks straight into the path of a train that’ll grind him into juicy mush, an easy extrapolation of a general trait of humankind, human nature, called “self-destruction”, marks the band’s move back toward venomous melodicism, richly infused with clear AOR rock elements! “Overload” reflected a heavier dose of darkness, but this time the boys come back with a sound and direction that brings the new record close to “Higher”.
For anyone hunting for the classic “Moon Swings” sound, probably no new Harem Scarem record will ever be good enough, but the undeniable fact is that the current lineup simply can’t record another “Moon Swngs”, and doesn’t want to either. Those with more open minds won’t mind at all, because modern Harem Scarem hold on to their own recognizable brand of perfection, one that brings under the same roof their innate feel for hunting down big melodies that grab you by the ears and a refined nose for stringing together simple, clear, short and punchy tricks! And within the finished song structures, the interludes are masterfully laced with guitar solos and other witty flourishes that give the album a dynamic ebb and flow.
The production is outstanding! It’s modern, with riffs here and there draped in a curtain of “wah-wah”, yet Harem Scarem have also managed to catch a natural sound on this record. The sonic spectrum is packed to the max, the instruments are in just the right balance, the full bass line is clearly audible, and the album’s melodicism is lifted even higher by polished multi-part vocal harmonies. “Human Nature” doesn’t know the meaning of overkill: it’s a solidly grounded, classic hard rock album, a typical Harem Scarem album, and with “Human Nature” the boys are neither reinventing alternating current nor writing Kardelj’s “Razvoj slovenskega narodnega vprašanja” (Krištof r.i.p.). So what lands on your plate is just turnips and potatoes!
The record’s length is just right! A good three quarters of an hour, which is perfect for the AOR rock genre, and in this case you’d rather shave off a minute or two!
The album opens with a surprise! A softer, mid-tempo title track, which isn’t exactly the style of Harem Scarem albums, usually marked by punchy “ho-ruk” rocker firestarters! An almost cerebral pre-chorus suddenly spills over into a classic Harem Scarem chorus, filled to the brim with melodic harmonies. And there they are, Harem Scarem! The opener alone is a proper little school of musical perfection, where the band makes full use of its knack for offering a simple tune that instantly crawls into every vein! In the “power” ballad Caught Up In Your World, the sensuality and subtlety of Harry’s vocals shine through with real intensity for the first time. It’s precisely on the calmer stretches of the album, and on the parts that want to sound “poppy”, that he hits the bull’s-eye, with the power of velvety sensuality!
One of the album’s peaks is definitely the ballad Hanging On. As history teaches us, it’s far harder to write a rock ballad that goes down well with everybody than a fast rock song. Why? Bringing in balladry risks bringing in sappiness, right, American colleagues? But in the case of Hanging On, the Canadians, who happily steer clear of the naive habits and deliberate overkill of the country to the south, have none of that syrupiness whatsoever. Madness that gives you goosebumps, a melancholic vocal loaded with explosive, sensual fire, and of course the Harem Scarem trademark: a melody that sucks you in within seconds! The song is on par with the perfection of This Ain’t Over (from the album “Weight Of The World”)! Don’t Throw It Away is simply one more proof of a song that’s practically flawless in its rock polish in the field of melodic hard rock! WELL, a small minus also sneaks onto the album! Give Love/Get Love! This tune is venomously good! So why the minus? You can feel Harem Scarem’s respect for Freddie Mercury and Queen in it. It’s a kind of tribute to the band! If not sooner, then at the latest the chorus will instantly remind you of Queen (those multi-part vocal harmonies)! Setting the Queen baggage aside, though, it’s a great choice for bringing contrast to the album and with it a shift in the dynamics of the mood! Cunning! And now here comes 21. This tune calls up the atmosphere of the darker-tinged predecessor of “Human Nature”, titled “Overload”! With its modern, dirty “groove”, it’s more commercially minded, with a pinch of “bluesy feel” in the transition into the chorus, something the album doesn’t really have anywhere else. Going Under joins this song in the “groove” department, but with a brighter chorus! The veil of darkness around 21 is shattered by the breezier rocker Starlight, with yet another typically melodic Harem Scarem chorus! The record closes with an uptempo anthem that follows practically a blend of the album “Higher”, with even the ghost of “Moon Swings” creeping in. A dramatic and intense finale to the record, in the most beautiful way melodic hard rock doctrine knows!
The new Harem Scarem once again deliver one of those albums that are especially loaded with melodicism. On that front, Human Nature can go toe to toe with the best albums of Harem Scarem’s career. Like we said: don’t look for “Moon Swings”, that’s the past! “Human Nature” follows the direction of the last albums “Overoald”, “Higher” and “Weight Of The World”, confirms the band’s firm, consistent pursuit of its musical vision, and one more very important thing! It carries a creative freshness, driven by the superb cooperation between the band members, and there’s no end in sight! Simply melodic hard rock dreams for every Harem Scarem fan, this time more intensely steeped in holy AOR spells, the kind that are only allowed in the sweetest and most hidden dreams. Boys! Strike while the iron is hot!
Lineup
Harry Hess – vocals, keyboards, guitar
Pete Lesperance – guitar, keyboards, vocals
Barry Donaghy – bass guitar
Creighton Doane – drums
Darren Smith – backing vocals
Production
Harry Hess & Pete Lesperance
Track list
1. Human Nature
2. Next Time Around
3. Caught Up In Your World
4. Reality
5. Hanging On
6. Don’t Throw It Away
7. Give Love Get Love
8. 21
9. Starlight
10. Going Under
11. Tomorrow May Be Gone
Album length: 45.27
