{"id":44722,"date":"2014-09-05T06:52:02","date_gmt":"2014-09-05T11:52:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=44722"},"modified":"2014-09-05T06:52:49","modified_gmt":"2014-09-05T11:52:49","slug":"moonland-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/moonland-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Moonland | Moonland<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"moonlandDo you remember Vanilla Ninja? This Estonian all-female band, whose music skillfully balanced on a border between radio-friendly pop rock and keyboard-driven \u201880s-infused pomp rock, enjoyed some success in the mid-2000s. Then, they ended up disappearing from the public eye towards the end of the decade. Although labeled a girl band at the time, Vanilla Ninja were no Spice Girls as their \u201880s edge and rock-flavored catchiness of their songs were appreciated more by the AOR aficionados than the teenybopper audience. Now, six years after we\u2019ve heard from them for the last time, the band\u2019s singer\/guitarist Lenna Kuurmaa returns with a solo endeavor to be released by Frontiers Records. <\/p>\n

Under the moniker of Moonland, the talented Estonian joins forces with the cream of the Italian rock scene \u2013 Francesco Marras on guitars, fellow female rocker Anna Portalupi on bass and Alessandro Polifrone on drums (as well as the acclaimed American guitarist\/producer Bruce Gaitsch, who plays nylon guitar). But the real teaser that should encourage every melodic rock fan to check the album out is that the Kuurmaa\u2019s partner in crime here is Alessandro Del Vecchio. The Italian wizard has his hands full here, playing keyboards and percussion, performing backing vocals as well as handling responsibility both of a producer and a songwriter.<\/p>\n

Considering Lenna\u2019s days in Vanilla Ninja, one\u2019s perspective might be slightly skewed and some comparisons are therefore inevitable. The first track, \u201cHeaven Is To Be Close To You\u201d might not be a drastic detachment from Vanilla Ninja\u2019s sound, but it clearly has some heavier vibe to it as compared with more pop-oriented sound of the band. \u201cOpen Your Heart\u201d begins with a subtle, charming piano intro against the wailing guitar sound, what could have suggested a ballad \u2013 a supposition that is not entirely true, as the second track of the album develops into a polished, neat mid-tempo illustrated with some tinkly keyboards and saccharine choruses instead. \u201cCrime Of Love\u201d and \u201cPoison Angel\u201d are both splendid tracks, pure AOR with wall of thick keyboard sound, dynamic guitars and melodic, powerful vocals. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen Love Is Gone\u201d brings a dose of mellow melodic rock sound against Kuurmaa\u2019s soaring, emotionally laden vocals, preceding a bit feistier \u201cOut Of Reach\u201d. Next track is a slow, charming \u201cLive And Let Go\u201d with heart-tugging, classy piano parts played by Del Vecchio against Marras\u2019 wistful guitar licks \u2013 ballad-esque, but powerful. \u201cCold As Ice\u201d speeds up a bit, again gravitating towards the heavier side of AOR. Its slightly slower follow-up \u201cOver Me\u201d features some tasteful duels between the omnipresent keyboard and the melodic guitar. Dynamic \u201cHeart Made Of Steel\u201d is a purebred rocker in its own right \u2013 the heaviest-Vanilla-Ninja-meets-contemporary-AOR, with certain \u201880s echoes that will make you hum and sing it under the shower for the next week (or month). The two final tracks \u201cLook At Us Now\u201d and \u201cAnother Day In Paradise\u201d continue in the same feisty, energetic manner, proving that it\u2019s perhaps the fast-paced AOR songs that Moonland and Kuurmaa are the most convincing at (although there\u2019s a lot of praise regarding the ballad-esque part of the album, too). <\/p>\n

Moonland feat. Lenna Kuurmaa marks the Estonian singer\u2019s return to the stages worldwide and her fans who anticipated it won\u2019t certainly be disappointed. It has all the qualities that once made Vanilla Ninja stand out among the bland pop outfits of the mid-2000s, but is more mature and, perhaps due to Alessandro Del Vecchio\u2019s involvement, certainly on more rocking side of things. Compared to the likes of Heart and Roxette, it\u2019s the high quality melodic rock album with brilliant songwriting, perfectly crafted melodies and many potential chart-favorites tailored for AOR-oriented radio stations. It\u2019s also a showcase of Lenna\u2019s talent as she turns out to fit perfect into the melodic rock genre with her expressive vocals, not even to mention the talents of all the musicians involved. Facts are that the female-fronted AOR has gained a new face with this album and that Alessandro Del Vecchio\u2019s Midas touch still works \u2013 all to the mutual elation of Vanilla Ninja and melodic rock fans. If you ever belonged to any of these two groups, Moonland feat. Lenna Kuurmaa is an album you simply can\u2019t miss.<\/p>\n

Genre: Melodic Rock, AOR<\/p>\n

Band:
\nLenna Kuurmaa – lead vocals
\nAlessandro Del Vecchio – keyboards, percussion, backing vocals
\nFrancesco Marras – guitars
\nBruce Gaitsch – nylon guitar
\nAnna Portalupi – bass
\nAlessandro Polifrone \u2013 drums<\/p>\n

Track List:
\n1.\tHeaven Is To Be Close To You
\n2.\tOpen Your Heart
\n3.\tCrime Of Love
\n4.\tPoison Angel
\n5.\tWhen Love Is Gone
\n6.\tOut Of Reach
\n7.\tLive And Let Go
\n8.\tCold As Ice
\n9.\tOver Me
\n10.\tHeart Made Of Steel
\n11.\tLook At Us Now
\n12.\tAnother Day In Paradise<\/p>\n

Label: Frontiers Records<\/p>\n

Website: https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/moon.land.52035<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alexandra Mrozowska – Senior Columnist — Do you remember Vanilla Ninja? This Estonian all-female band, whose music skillfully balanced on a border between radio-friendly pop rock and keyboard-driven \u201880s-infused pomp rock, enjoyed some success […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":44723,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[8939,374,9945,2901,9944],"class_list":{"0":"post-44722","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-aor","9":"tag-frontiers-records","10":"tag-lenna-kuurmaa","11":"tag-melodic-rock","12":"tag-moonland"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44722"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44722\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44723"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44722"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}