Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Auras
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2010
Runtime: 55:23
Rating: 4/5
This time the AOR bomb went off in Brazil. “Another cliché,” you might say. Sure, nothing new is going to be invented in this genre anymore, that much is clear. There are only good and not-so-good approximations. But no matter how much the songs on a given new album sound like albums of the same stripe you’ve absorbed before, on the flip side every resemblance can carry full credibility, as long as it’s made with the right fire and in such a way that all you can say is: “Damn good!”
That absolutely holds true for the debut from Brazilian AOR revivalists Auras! Their album “New Generation” instantly stuns with a haul of outstanding AOR anthems, every last one of them boasting an extremely seductive catchiness that any listener hunting for melodic, pompous compactness in rock music simply can’t escape.
And who the heck does “New Generation” sound like, that we’ve been circling like a cat around hot porridge for two paragraphs, explaining what’s a cliché and what isn’t? Journey. Both in how keyboards and guitar phrases are combined to build the backbone of the accompaniment, and in the melodic, high-reaching range of the lead vocal. Not quite Steve Perry. The vocal isn’t raspy at all. Almost Kevin Chalfant (Two Fires). In the range where it’s strongest, and in how it shapes the verse melodies, a comparison to a vocalist of the Tony Mills (TNT, ex-Shy, Serpentine) type comes into play alongside Chalfant. Even the soloing style in the middle instrumental passages (formulaically woven in between the second and third chorus) doesn’t hide the strong influence of the guitar craft of the one-of-a-kind Neal Schon (Journey). And Frontiers Records clearly don’t need to be asked twice to sign a deal, as long as something smells even a little like Journey.
Brazilians usually like to team up with Germans when shaping their sound. Take the progressive metallers Angra, who are traditionally oriented toward the European sound. Well, Dennis Ward isn’t German, he’s an American who lives in Germany full-time. The man is behind a heap of production credits, especially when German melodic hard rock bands and projects are involved. German melodic rock is typically characterized by seeking a voluminous foundation in guitar phrases pushed to the front. Ward’s signature Pink Cream 69 or Place Vendome approach, however, isn’t used in the mix of “New Generation”, and that’s hugely welcome news. Auras build their expression throughout on an equal conversation between keyboards and guitar phrases. So they’re happy to have the guitars a little “hidden”, and with the keyboards given equal prominence, the final “pop” effect is softer. Ward really proved to be an excellent solution this time. The sound is old-school AOR in design, yet it’s clear throughout that this wasn’t recorded in 1984. Heads up! Auras have two permanent guitarists. Their sound on stage must surely rip without brakes!
The songs are strongly even in their melodies. Of course, some choruses work in a “killer” seductive way. Hungry Hearts, for instance, carries one of the album’s strongest choruses, and the title track is likewise a moment that ranks among its highlights. An interesting song is That’s The Way Love Goes, which is underpinned by percussion in the verse. The initial riff attack of the guitars suddenly and deftly ducks down in the verse, and a real Toto moment rises to the surface. Yes. A comparison with Sweden’s Work Of Art also comes into play. You can’t miss the borrowed Toto line in the backing vocals either, “I’ll be over you”. It does stick in the ear, but it by no means spoils the album’s quality level, which, despite such “longing”, keeps a truly genuine AOR unruliness at the same time. If you want a radio hit, then listen to the chorus melody of Keep On Loving You. The album opens and closes in a very similar manner. In the rhythm of a gently sped-up chug, positive and joyful. Beauty Of Dreams reveals the whole point of Auras in an instant. With it, the album immediately takes on a high qualitative level of development, with real variety and dynamics, which doesn’t let up until the last bar of Love To Survive. Forgive And Forget is also worth singling out: into its perfectly melodic shaping creep a few deliberate whispers of naturally sounding honky tonk piano and a mischievously flirtatious rock n’ roll teasing.
As a debut, “New Generation” successfully capitalized on Auras’ extraordinary potential right from the start. This is pure AOR revivalism. The crew has an exceptional sense and feel for AOR bombast. Anyone who has heard the latest Two Fires album “Burning Bright” and gotten acquainted with “New Generation” won’t think twice about it being a considerably better replacement (if we’re looking for perfection, especially Two Fires’ self-titled debut). “New Generation” is one of the best debuts to come out this year in the field of AOR genre activity.
Lineup
Gui Oliver – vocals
Ferpa Lacerda – guitar, backing vocals
Matheus Brandon – guitar, backing vocals
Felipe Beyer – keyboards
Hemerson Vieira – bass guitar
Edu Sallum – drums
Production
Ferpa Lacerda & Gui Oliver
Track list
1. Beauty Of Dreams
2. Forgive and Forget
3. Never Give Up
4. In My Arms
5. Reach Out
6. New Generation
7. Forever In Your Eyes
8. Hungry Hearts
9. That’s The Way Love Goes
10. Keep On Loving You
11. Out of Love
12. Love To Survive
