sonic station

(5/10) Sonic Station is the another AOR band from Sweden. In this case the guys are coming from Stockholm. The main man behind Sonic Station is guitarist Alexander Kronbrink. He is also the main composer of the band, which names the westcoast AOR sound as their main inspiration. This is also what you can hear back in the tunes of the new album. Some parallels with bands like e.g. Toto are obvious.

"Next stop", that's the title of the new album, has some good and bad parts.

Starting with the positive things: The album got a really good sound. The tracks sound powerful and energetic - from a production point of view. Another thing which stands out are the vocals from Johan Bodling. His crystal clear voice fits perfect to the AOR/Rock music which Sonic Station plays. On three tracks Marika Willstedt, well known in Sweden, is responsible for the lead vocals. Those are OK as well, but to me a bit more flat than the Boding songs.

My problem with the album are the songs in general. I took the effort to listen to the album several times, but I have to say that none of the tracks really stands out. None of the tunes really sticks to you mind. They feel more like an never ending flow. Not that they are really bad, but they are lacking excitement. I don't want to be too harsh, but it feels for me a bit like background music. It doesn't disturb, but it also doesn't really catches your attention. It's just there.

AOR fans which call bands like the earlier mentioned Toto to their faves should give this album a chance. Unfortunatelly I never found the right way into this "Next stop".

(5/10)

Tracklist:

1. Amelia
2. Catch me if you can
3. Brighter after dark
4. Fool for your love
5. Stopped beating
6. Where are you now?
7. Half of my heart
8. Broken man
9. Loce clash
10. Last goodbye
11. Hide and seek

Label: Avenue Of Allies

Genre: AOR