Artist: Two Of A Kind
Label: Frontiers Records
Release: 2007
Two Of A Kind is a brand-new band from the Netherlands, founded by bassist Fred Hendrix, who is also the singer of the better-known melodic rockers Terra Nova. Over his career, the guy has also lent his skills to two albums by the pop rock-oriented outfit Aquila, which were released exclusively in Japan. Two Of A Kind is an interesting band mostly because its lineup features two lead singers, Esther Brouns and Anita Craenmehr.
Both ladies have plenty of vocal experience under their belts. Brouns sang for the band Night Shade, with whom she put out a single on MCA and was part of the Fast Forward crew, while Craenmehr cut her teeth mostly in “a tribute to” bands, belting out covers. Alongside the two singers, the band also features members of Terra Nova: Gesuino Derosas (guitar), the aforementioned Fred on bass, his brother Ron on keyboards, and Hans in’t Zandt on drums.
Two Of A Kind are purveyors of melodic hard rock. Heart fans will be the happiest about it, and the style and sound are built on the legacy of the eighties, so classic Heart is a pretty fair comparison. Together the two singers create an extremely pompous vibe and loads of atmosphere, and with their harmonies they definitely stand out in what is otherwise the central role on the album. European-style hard rock, make no mistake! The production is exactly what the genre demands. Bombastic production, sharp but clean guitars on the riffs, wrapped in a lovely curtain of keyboards rolling through waves of big vocal harmonies, it wins you over at this point across the entire running time of the album. The tracks get under your skin on the first listen. The predictability level is extremely high, and the record doesn’t exactly boast any great creative wit.
At certain points the album drifts into AOR territory, in songs like The Longest Night with its big epic chorus, and Give Me A Reason, dressed in that typical eighties Heart form, also swims into those waters. The AOR moments are rounded out by the mid-tempo In Your Arms and the acoustic but sped-up Into The Fire. The record is firmly represented on the ballad front by Unbearable and I Die A Little More Everyday, which could easily get radio play, if it were the eighties, of course. There’s also quite a bit of “sugar” in the chosen melodies, which annoyingly brings in a streak of pathos, while the lyrics are typically American-naive, on the level of a 10-year-old girl dreaming about a prince on a white horse.
That excellent production, quality playing, quality vocal harmonies, big singalong melodic choruses, smooth transitions, in short, a record that technically lacks absolutely nothing and will first and foremost satisfy Heart fans. You can feel right away that it was put together by people who know how to write “logical hooks”. The only problem is the lack of its own identity. It’s nowhere to be found.
So we’re talking about a clone, a very high-quality clone, but one that brings nothing of its own, a creative void and a master of imitation at once. All in one. Nothing on the record can boast any distinctive character or uniqueness. But then again, that’s tough these days, in 2007, within the guidelines of the hard rock genres. An awkward album in that respect, and one that is absolutely up to your own judgment, so you can pin a “passing” or “failing” grade on it yourself.
Lineup
Esther Brouns – vocals
Anita Craenmehr – vocals
Gesuino Derosas – guitar
Ron Hendrix -keyboards
Fred Hendrix – bass
Hans in ‘t Zandt – drums
Production
Fred Hendrix
Tracklist
1. Light in the Dark
2. The Longest Night
3. Little by Little
4. Give Me a Reason
5. Heaven Can Wait
6. Unbearable
7. Into the Fire
8. In Your Arms
9. Whole Again
10. To The Top
11. I Die a Little More Everyday
Album length: 50.13
