Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Houston
Label: Cargo Records
Release: 2014
Running time: 37:58
Rating: 3/5
A year has flown by, and Houston, yet another of the crop of new-wave Swedish AOR and melodic rock revivalists, are putting out a new official studio document. No. Not a studio album. Sadly, not yet. This is the follow-up to their nostalgia-packed 2011 EP »Relaunch«, fittingly titled »Relaunch II«.
The Swedes are taking an interesting road. A studio album is followed by an EP of covers of well-known artists, then another studio album, then comes another EP in the same mold,… The formula has clearly clicked, and the guys enjoy plenty of support from the scene. Scandinavian dedication and commitment remain Houston’s guiding light in 2014, too! The band picked another interesting batch of songs to rework and added four brand-new originals. These guys are armed to the teeth with a serious talent for putting compositions together. They know exactly what they want, and exactly how to maneuver in the studio to hit their target with maximum impact. Among the new originals, Don’t Look Back definitely stands out.
You have to approach this EP with fewer demands and a looser ear. The band came up with six covers and had a whole lot of relaxed fun in the studio doing it. Naturally it’s a bit up and down, both because the originals start from such different places and because they fit Houston’s sound and style to varying degrees. They could easily have done without the covers of One Republic (Counting Stars) and Georgia Florida Line (Cruise), since in Houston’s hands they sound like a recreation of the “sugary” hitmakers of the last decade, bands of the Nickelback type. The band also threw in a bit more shock value by covering Lady Gaga’s hit Do What You Want, where Hank Erix’s male vocals are joined in a duet by the excellent guest vocals of singer Lizette Von Panajott. It’s good that the band sets itself challenges like this and surprises itself. Of the three covers where it’s not hard to see the use of the “skip” button on your CD player, the Lady Gaga one still works best. Given the style and sound the band cultivates, the covers of John Farnham (Justice for One), John O’Banion (Love is Blind) and Rick Springfield (Souls) fare far better. The originals of all three songs already offer a superb stance of AOR-formatted songwriting aesthetics, the kind that thoroughly shook up the top of the popular music charts in the eighties.
The tail end of the EP is made up of three new originals that “put things back in their place”. First up is Our Love, written in collaboration with members of Casablanca’s Reach, Reckless Love and Crazy Lixx. A solid song, but it gets completely upstaged by the excellent Downtown, with an especially effective build-up of atmosphere into a crescendo of a chorus. The EP closes with Standing On the Moon, where the band indulges in a bit of sonic experimenting (using programmed sound loops) that pushes toward pop sensibilities, which is why it’s better that it landed on this EP and not on the band’s studio album.
»Relaunch II« is another showcase of the exceptional arranging finesse and sonic craftsmanship of these Scandinavian AOR and melodic rock revivalists. It’s definitely worth a try for all fans of the genre, while those who know the band and fell in love with Houston through both proper studio albums will surely grab it without much hesitation. It’s a product that will help fans make it through the wait for the next studio album. The hyperactive Swedes are not giving up, then. On the EP »Relaunch II« you’ll find plenty of fun, just like Houston had making it, though for genre purists this release is basically skippable. What really counts on the EP are the three excellent originals and the three covers that work really well.
Oh, and by the way, one more thought. Could you find an AOR revival band in Slovenia today that comes close to Houston in arranging style? Easily. That would be Broken Arrow from Brežice.
Line-up
Hank Erix – vocals, backing vocals
ricky Delin – keyboards, backing vocals
Victor Lundberg – keyboards, backing vocals
Calle Hammar – guitar, backing vocals
Soufian Ma’Aoui – bass guitar
Oscar Lundström – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Lizette Von Panajott – vocals on track no. 7
Production
Houston
Tracklist
1. Justice For One
2. Love Is Blind
3. Counting Stars
4. Souls
5. Don’t Look Back
6. Cruise
7. Do What You Want
8. Our Love
9. Downtown
10. Standing On The Moon
