by Alexandra Mrozowska
– Senior Columnist —
“You’re not my lover, is it wrong or right…? You’re not my lover, but you were last night…” Do you remember this tune? Maybe not as much an exact #1 chart favorite as a cult classic in Scandi melodic rock-oriented circles, the Child-Bon-Jovi-Sambora-penned song of Dalton’s 1987 debut album The Race Is On remains perhaps their best-known endeavor up to date. In their late ‘80s heyday, these Swedes surely knew how to rock and apparently, they didn’t forget their craft even though it’s been exactly 25 years since their last release Injection (1989). 2014 saw them making a triumphant return under the wing of the hegemonic Frontiers Records and under a guidance of the brilliant Erik Mårtensson (W.E.T., Eclipse). The result of this collaboration is their new album Pit Stop that sounds as if the band had recorded it straight after Injection – even though it’s been a quarter of the century that’s passed.
In the opening track “Ready Or Not,” the key ingredients that made us melodic rockers enjoy The Race Is On so much are all in place – from Bo Lindmark’s raspy vocals to the hooky choruses, catchy to the point of an absolute intoxication. Shiny keyboard-laden melody and a wonderfully clichéd group chant of “Hey You” make you seriously question if it’s still 2014 on the clock, and wonder how come the band didn’t age at all throughout the last 25 years? The synth-driven mid-tempo “Don’t Tell Me Lies” is another fine piece of Scandi AOR and yet another proof that the ‘80s may be gone, but for some of us, they’re never over.
“Follow Your Dreams” is a sugary acoustic-based ballad that may remind you of the style utilized by bands such as Trixter at the turn of the ‘80s and ‘90s. “Up & Down” is all big chorus, powerful group chant and a thick wall of synthesizer-driven sound blended into a huge rock anthem that’s not only catchy but simply contagious. “Bad Love” brings some nifty guitar playing into the keyboard-dominated picture, the band’s fretman Leif Westfahl gravitating this time towards slightly rawer sound. “One Voice” is another AOR gem with its uplifting message and hook-laden structure, keyboards so tinkly that they bring to mind the melodies played by the music boxes. An instant classic, you’d say! “Here We Are” is perhaps a bit weaker, but nevertheless a good track with some huge background vocals, while slightly more updated sound-wise, but still ‘80s-infused “Something For The Pain” gravitates towards the contemporary melodic rock style and musical territories occupied by bands such as W.E.T., Sunstorm or Wig Wam.
The next-to-last track on Pit Stop is “50/50” that again regains the supposedly “vintage” quality of its predecessors music-wise, again sounding as if it had been a lost gem found in the midst of the forgotten mid-‘80s recordings. A blistering “TGIF” turns out to be a grand finale, its enigmatic title being actually an acronym for “Thank God it’s Friday”… it’s never enough of rock ‘n’ roll songs about the joys of having a weekend off, isn’t it? With a big, classic, brass-band-a-like sound with some clear-cut Aerosmith-esque echoes and Bo Lindmark doing his best Steven Tyler-ish impression, the song’s finishing the album on a definitely high note.
The rules of the music industry are clear but merciless; making a return after a few years can be risky and the results of it are often disappointing for the listeners of the particular act as there’s usually too many of too drastic changes involved in the process. How about coming back after a quarter of the century and sounding as if the band had never really left the recording studio after making the previous album? Of course, some songs on Pit Stop were developed from the unreleased demos for what had to follow 1989’s Injection immediately so that their ‘80s origin is somewhat explainable, but still – the secret of maintaining the unmistakably ‘80s spirit and youthful enthusiasm remains perhaps the best-kept one in Dalton’s camp. If they had ever revealed it and shared it with their counterparts, AOR fans would have been faced with a hard choice of what to go for. But as long as it’s safely kept inside The Swedes’ headquarters, the aficionados of the genre can make a space on their CD shelf for Pit Stop only and it’s guaranteed they will get their money’s worth.
Genre: Melodic Hard Rock
Band:
Bo Lindmark – lead vocals
Mats Dahlberg – drums, backing vocals
Anders Lindmark – bass, backing vocals
Leif Westfahl – lead guitar, backing vocals
Ola Lindstrom – keyboards, backing vocals
Track List:
1. Ready Or Not
2. Hey You
3. Don’t Tell Me Lies
4. Follow Your Dreams
5. Up & Down
6. Bad Love
7. One Voice
8. Here We Are
9. Something For The Pain
10. 50/50
11. TGIF
Label: Frontiers Records
Website: https://www.facebook.com/DaltonSweden
Hardrock Haven rating: 9/10
