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Review: Jack Foley
SWEDISH pop-rockers, Mando Diao, have plenty of confidence in
their ability which translates well to their second album, Hurricane
Bar.
A gutsy, melody-strewn collection of indie-based rock, the album
is a lively and catchy re-introduction to the band, who may be
big in their home country, but who have yet to make as big a splash
as they might have hoped over here.
Headed by the prolific songwriting partnership of Gustaf Norén
and
Björn Dixgård, the band wear their influences on their
sleeves, with everyone from The Stone Roses and Oasis to The Beatles
sampled at some point.
In truth, they're not as good as any of those bands but their
music contains an infectious quality that's impossible to ignore
once you've heard the album a few times.
Recent single, You Can't Steal My Love, for instance,
is a typically high-octane yet melody-strewn blast of pop-rock
that provokes comparisons with the guitar style of The Libertines.
While the deeply wistful Ringing Bells recalls memories
of acoustic Oasis, with Noel Gallagher leading the vocals, on
B-sides such as Talk Tonight and Half The World Away.
Traces of Sixties rock are rife throughout the hip-shaking guitar
riffs of If I Leave You, while classic pop-rock sensibilities
are also to be found in the melodic Dream Is Over.
Throughout the album, the guitars are to the fore, providing
some exceptional hooks that help win you over in spite of initial
scepticisms.
While in tracks such as the exceptional All My Senses,
which contains a genuinely feelgood vibe, and the no-less enjoyable
Annie's Angle, which contains a memorable chorus, the
band is damn near impossible to resist.
Hurricane Bar therefore rates as a corking little pop-rock
album that is just waiting to be discovered.
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Track listing:
1. Cut the Rope
2. God Knows
3. Clean Town
4. Down in the Past
5. You Can’t Steal my Love
6. Added Family
7. Annie’s Angle
8. If I Leave You
9. Ringing Bells
10. This Dream is Over
11. White Wall
12. All My Senses
13. Kingdom & Glory
14. Next to be Lowered
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