{"id":45204,"date":"2014-09-23T12:47:55","date_gmt":"2014-09-23T17:47:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=45204"},"modified":"2014-09-24T07:23:05","modified_gmt":"2014-09-24T12:23:05","slug":"work-of-art-framework-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2014\/work-of-art-framework-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Work of Art | Framework<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist\/News Editor —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"WorkThere has been a resurgence in recent years of Toto-inspired AOR. Bands like Sonic Station, Lionville and Houston have all done well revisiting that classic sound, but the unquestioned leader of the new AOR pack is Sweden’s Work of Art. Their two previous albums \u2013 2008’s Artwork<\/em> and 2011’s In Progress<\/em> \u2013 were perfect examples of Swedish AOR done right, and now they’re back with a new album, titled Framework<\/em>.<\/p>\n

You wouldn’t think that Work of Art could actually improve on the two polished AOR gems they’ve already delivered, but Framework<\/em> is AOR perfection. Perhaps Robert Sall’s work in W.E.T. with Erik Martensson and Jeff Scott Soto influenced his songwriting here, because Framework is a much catchier and more upbeat album. It never gets too far into rock territory, but Work of Art sure puts an electricity into their Toto worship this time around that often recalls classic Survivor. Sall delivers the hooks and utterly irresistible melodies, and vocalist Lars Safsund makes the songs absolutely soar. This guy’s voice is pure silk, and is absolutely perfect for this kind of melodic rock.<\/p>\n

Calling out highlights of this album is almost pointless, because every single song on Framework<\/em> is so damned perfect. Still, this being the age of Spotify and YouTube, if you want to sample before buying the first single \u201cThe Machine\u201d ought to convince you. Leadoff track \u201cTime To Let Go\u201d and \u201cHow Do You Sleep at Night\u201d should seal the deal as well. Honestly though, you could pick any song at random and still find your jaw dropping at the AOR genius Work of Art has on display here.<\/p>\n

Framework<\/em> is now the gold standard that every other modern AOR album will be judged by. It is the best thing we’ve heard from Work of Art to date, and a definite contender for any melodic rock fan’s \u201cbest of 2014\u201d list. Whether your tastes run to the classic AOR of Toto, Journey and Survivor or the newer sounds of Lionville and Mecca, Framework is a must-have album. <\/p>\n

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

Band:
\nLars Safsund (v)
\nRobert Sall (g) (k)
\nHerman Furin (d)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\nTime To Let Go
\nHow Will I Know
\nShout Till You Wake Up
\nCan’t Let Go
\nHow Do You Sleep At Night
\nOver the Line
\nThe Machine
\nHold On To Love
\nNatalie
\nThe Turning Point
\nMy Waking Dream<\/p>\n

Label: Frontiers Records<\/p>\n

Website: www.facebook.com\/musicofworkofart<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines – Senior Columnist\/News Editor — There has been a resurgence in recent years of Toto-inspired AOR. Bands like Sonic Station, Lionville and Houston have all done well revisiting that classic sound, but […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":45205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10848],"tags":[8939,2317,10024,374,2901,8998],"class_list":{"0":"post-45204","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2014","8":"tag-aor","9":"tag-cd-review","10":"tag-framework","11":"tag-frontiers-records","12":"tag-melodic-rock","13":"tag-work-of-art"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45204","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=45204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}