Three albums in three years. Last Autumn’s Dream/Secret Service vocalist Mikael Erlandsson and his cohorts – guitarist Pontus Åkesson (Moon Safari), drummer Robban Bäck (Mustasch), new bassist Magnus Rosén (Ex-Hammerfall) – seems to be looking back to the 80’s when an album a year was the norm. The 2020 debut was a delicate portion of the finest AOR/Melodic Rock and even if the follow-up Angel’s Gate (2021) wasn’t exactly as strong, it was still a damn fine piece of music. With H.E.A.T. keyboarder Jona Tee now only guesting instead of being a permanent member, it do stands clear that Autumn’s Child now is Erlandsson’s main priority – the right thing to do if you ask me.
Opener and lead-off single “Emergency” is somewhat rougher than expected even though it opens with a combined synth/guitar riff. The tune is built on Hard Rock with a poundy rhythm section and it runs on faster track, upbeat and kicking. While we get a live-friendly rock-stomper, the song also holds its fair share of AOR-isms, of course, plus smooth keyboards over the crunchy riffage. There’s a nod towards Last Autumn’s Dream in the chorus too and what a chorus it is, catchy as can be. Killer stuff, this. “Evangeline” holds a softer approach and comes off as a more straight ahead AOR affair. It’s upbeat and uplifting with a monster hook in the 80’s smelling refrain. It’s big on keyboards making the guitars taking a more held-back position. Still, a magnificent tune and the hit potential is huge here.
“Love Is A Fighter” is a spiced up and upbeat pop-song right from the mid 80’s back-pocket. It’s rhythmic and holds a stellar groove but it’s also glossy and slick with a very Scandinavian AOR sounding main-melody. The vocal-melody holds a light resemblance to Michael Sembello’s “Maniac” and the sticky chorus is a real glue-hook and catches on right from go. Good one. “Nightingale” says it’s ballad-time but with its mellow arrangements and saddening melodies, it’s quite a deep and emotional thing instead of an immense power ballad. The vocal-melodies are gorgeous and embracing but there’s also a heavier solo-break which gives the song some dynamic contrasts. I dig.
The single “Never Say Die” opens with a pompous synth fanfare a bit too close to Europe’s “The Final Countdown” for comfort. Slightly orchestrated, the song continues on a meaty and straight-forward AOR-groove. The song sports some major pop-hooks, a pomp-laden keyboard and a direct melody with a distinct and catchy AOR refrain as the icing on the cake. Great stuff. The power ballad “Heaven Can Wait” is a blend of equal parts pomp, AOR, ABBA and early 90’s American power balladry. It’s a bit saccharine for sure but the melody-lines is still very hard to deny and the chorus is nothing short of infectious.
With the focus on the more melodic, AOR-ish stuff on the first batch of songs it feels nice to get a raunchier edge with the more hard-rocking “Angel Of Danger”. It’s more riff-based, it holds a fatter rhythm-section and a more muscular outlook and even though the vocal melodies might be quite smooth, it never gets into pure AOR territory. It’s a live-friendly belter on a straight-forward not. Very good indeed. The AOR pomp returns with “High On Love”, a direct number with strong melodies that grabs a holds by first listen. It’s a pop-laden and uplifting, positive tune with more ABBA influenced melodies and contagious hooks – and the Journey-like chorus is almost annoyingly catchy. Good stuff.
The album’s big curve-ball is the left-turn “Crowdpleaser”. With ballsy and earthy AC/DC flirtatious riffs, a Rock ‘n’ Roll piano and a tough beat like a fist in the face, the tune really is, well, a crowdpleaser. The tune brings on a dirtier outlook, rowdy guitars and a bang-on-target refrain that will work like a charm from the stage. Great. They keep the heavier pace with “Don’t Wanna”, a big arena-rocker, upbeat and fast-tracked with melodic vocal-melodies, lots of backing vocals and a striking refrain. Brilliant. The album closes with the sombre, slightly Beatles-esque ballad “Damaged Goods” which starts out acoustically but goes into a bigger soundscape when the band comes in. It’s a soft and held-back farewell for this time, a good song yet a bit anonymous.
As a whole, this record is musically and genre-wise in line with the last two albums – a natural follow-up in sound and style – and quality-wise I still hold the debut as my favorite but this one’s not that far behind. Autumn’s Child feels like a natural progression from Last Autumn’s Dream, they’re big on pop-moments and AOR is the circle the work within but they’re not afraid to really rock out when needed to. My only real issue is that the music is too often too smooth and safe and even though they know how to write a great song and a good hook, I’d love some more muscle and power when it comes to the poppier tracks. This is a really good album but for album #4 they might wanna spread their wings a little bit more to not stagnate and repeat themselves.
7/10
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Tracklist:
1. Emergency
2. Evangeline
3. Love Is A Fighter
4. Nightingale
5. Never Say Die
6. Heaven Can Wait
7. Angel Of Danger
8. High On Love
9. Crowdpleaser
10. Don’t Wanna
11. Damaged Goods
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