When Norwegian AOR-rocker Isabelle “Issa” Oversveen released her brilliant debut album Sign Of Angels I was convinced that she would turn into the new Queen of AOR. She had the attitude, the songs, the sound and the looks of a star. However things didn’t really turn out that way. Now eleven years later, she hasn’t become all that much bigger than she was back then. Why that is, if I can guess, is that her previous albums hasn’t really shown that many signs of development and even though no albums has been bad, they have all, with the exception of second album The Storm, more or less sounded like new versions of the debut. The explanation for that is, of course, that they have all been produced and mostly written by Frontiers stable of song writers and Alessandro Del Vecchio in particular.
When Issa now releases her fourth studio album of originals – her album Can’t Stop from 2012 was an album full of covers of obscure AOR songs, an album I really, really enjoy – the people behind it is again the usual suspects which makes me think beforehand that it will again sound like a continuation of what we’ve been treated with before. That being said, Issa is a brilliant singer with an enormous range which makes every listen enjoyable and Del Vecchio is a good song writer but the projects he’s involved in has more or less sounded like his solo albums with different singers.
Opener and leading single “Angels Calling” is a smooth, upbeat 80’s AOR-rocker and a big throwback to Issa’s debut album with a slight nod towards Vega in the vocal-melodies here and there. Big AOR keyboards rubs shoulders with a fat, juicy guitar, thrilling harmonies and a smashing, poppy and hooky chorus that sticks like glue to the brain. A brilliant opener, should’ve been a hit! The faster tempo continues with the upbeat pop-rocker “The Way Out”, a smooth, plain AOR-stomper with a slight Hard Rock touch and the second single. Again, the guitars are crunchy but the slick and glossy keyboards lies high in the mix with layers of backing vocals. It’s melodic enough with a nice melody-arrangement – a good song but the chorus could have been stronger.
With a darker touch and a slower pace yet still very much an AOR-track, “The Night It Rained Forever” is on the melancholic side. The song is on the threshold to a ballad but with a fat and meaty guitar and a punchy and heavier rhythm it comes across as more of a rocker than the previous two songs. Also, the desolate and somewhat saturnine keyboard sound brings another dynamic to the song. The chorus is massively catchy without going saccharine on us. A great tune. “I’m Here To Stay” is an AOR-tune in mid tempo which holds held-back and frugal verses on the softer side. While the chorus is more upbeat with a typical Del Vecchio melody, it’s also a bit moody and never really takes off properly. An ok song, though.
“Blue” – the latest single – is a piano laden ballad that both hold a big soundscape and some bombastic strokes when the chorus arrives and a saddening ambience all over. It’s a really powerful tune, big on emotion and it sounds like Issa means every word she’s singing here. The chorus is a mastodon, bombastic and amazingly catchy and Issa’s glistening voice blends brilliantly with Simone Mularoni’s edgy guitars. Very good. The title-track is an uptempo, straight forward AOR-rocker with both a Hard Rock outlook with rough guitars and pop-vibes. This one’s a meaty rocker made for the stage with Issa’s impressive voice and a stellar chorus that’s both direct, effective and catchy. To my ears, this sounds like a hit. Great stuff.
“Derive” is a brittle and down-beat piece that borders to balladry, a slow and mellow pop number with a melancholic atmosphere. Parts of the song takes a small step into musical-theatre as well and brings along a dramatic touch. Even though the tune holds a good main-melody, it also feels somewhat unstructured like it don’t know which leg to stand upon. Also, the chorus isn’t hooky enough and therefore fails to lift the tune. “Without Love” is a big pop-song in an AOR/Rock disguise with a verse that is parts 70’s ABBA and parts modern day Eurovision with a chorus that takes slick, fluffy and smooth into another level of sweetness. That said, it’s a hooky tune with a shitload of catchiness. A pretty good number.
“Wait For Love” is uptempo and is a poppy Melodic Rock stomper, very straight ahead with a big 80’s sounding synth, glossy and slick. Here, Journey meets Treat and if the verses leans over towards Pop, the distinct and striking refrain is Melodic Rock of the early 90’s and sticks right away. Good one. “After The Rain” – not a cover of the Nelson track which I had hoped because Issa has proven she’s great at doing AOR covers – is a standard AOR-pop-rock number, upbeat with a chunky drive. It’s a bit streamlined with predictable vocal-melodies and despite all the pop-hooks, the song is forgettable. I wish it was a Nelson cover.
The album closes with “Die For A Life With You”. Still very much an AOR tune, it’s edgier and rougher than most of the songs here where the crunchy guitars and hard-hitting rhythms gives the song a Hard Rock edge. While the song is straight-forward and upbeat in tempo and certainly rocks it still brings along slick vocal-melodies, smooth keyboards and a hook-laden chorus with a whole bunch of contagious melodies. It’s a damn good tune and in my book this should be a future single because it could very well turn into a rock-radio-hit.
I’m not sure if Issa is still married to Vega keyboard player James Martin (he did help out with the song-writing on some tracks here) or not but judging by the album’s title, virtually all the song titles and the lyrics, this record comes across as a divorce-record of sorts. And I actually think the music benefits of the darker and melancholic lyrics. Musically, the album is pretty much what I thought it would be. While it’s better than her last album Run With The Pack, it’s still a bit too predictable and Del Vecchio’s arrangements shines through too much which in turn brings the feeling that once again we’re given an Issa on repeat. To be perfectly honest, I think that Issa would benefit using different song-writers and producers the next time – maybe write some songs herself – because even though I like this album, I think that she just might have a GREAT album in her somewhere if she just took a step outside her comfort zone.
6/10
More Issa reviews:
Sign Of Angels
The Storm
Crossfire
Can’t Stop
Run With The Pack
Tracklist:
1. Angels Calling
2. The Way Out
3. The Night It Rained Forever
4. I’m Here To Stay
5. Blue
6. Queen Of Broken Hearts
7. Derive
8. Without Love
9. Wait For Love
10. After The Rain
11. Die For A Life With You
CD & Festival reviews 