The Answer

New Horizon

Written by: BW on 08/01/2014 18:18:36

The last time I saw these Irish boys playing was at the AC/DC gig in Glasgow as the support act and I enjoyed them back then. They do lean heavily towards the good old’ fashioned rock and roll genre and the title track off this album does that in abundance. “New Horizon” has a nice and meaty beat as well as some nicely shredded solo guitar work. Cormac Neeson’s distinctive voice really adds to the dirtiness of the tracks and there’s something about the Hard Rock/Blues Rock genre that demands that lack of cleanliness.

This fact is even more acknowledged with the almost Led Zeppelin styled “Leave With Nothin” There is that really catchy chorus chord group that almost demands a headbang as regulatory. The hook is definitely there and it lends to the vocal work really well and has to be a standout on the album for me.

It’s that no-frills rock that has you enjoying The Answer and the well crafted songs do seem to keep their quality up throughout the album, although their single choice “Spectacular” does seem to reek of being a diluted song for the mass market and can’t really carry itself against the rest of the record, with “Somebody Else” being a close second. When the ballad does show its head though, in the form of “Call Yourself a Friend” it fits in perfectly fine, with a very light start, allowing for a more natural singing section before the louder melodic screaming can continue.

The faster and more accustomed tunes do have that ability to grab you and suck you into their clutches, but the only question is just how long it can keep you doing that for. "Everyday Demons", their second album had this problem for me. The Answer do have that great ability to make a great rock song, with a lot of character and some well crafted music writing, but if you were asked to pick an anthem from the album you would begin to struggle a little. The same goes again for "New Horizon". You can sit and like what you hear, but not one track really does its best to stand out from the crowd and be counted. This in turn leaves you less of a chance of going back to listen again after a couple of full disc listens.

It is such a shame really. The quartet have the ability to produce some really catchy stuff, but in order to catch everyone’s attention they need that one defining song and this album just doesn’t have that and it is those iconic songs that make people buy albums in the first place. The fact I didn’t know The Answer had released a new album until I got the review job speaks volumes for the prosecution.

If you’re a fan of a good, decent guitar licking, vocally achieved album then this is a nice one to go for. As it stands though, there is just that something lacking to make this an outstanding collection of tunes to have it as essential, but at the very least give this a listen. The more people do this the more we may well get that blockbuster anthem.

7

Download: Leave With Nothin', Speak Now, Concrete, Burn You Down
For The Fans Of: Airbourne, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin,
Listen: facebook.com

Release Date 27.09.2013
Napalm

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