As of now it can’t be all that many that don’t know of At The Movies. Fact is, the band/project is a bit of a Cinderella story – a guy (Chris Laney) with a case of pandemic boredom watching movies at home and was thrown back to the old soundtracks he loved and decided to record a song (“Pop Goes My Heart”) by himself that led to the idea of covering 80’s movie scores. That in turn led to gathering a bunch of friends (Björn Strid, Pontus Egberg, Allan Sörensen, Pontus Norgren, Morten Sandager, Linnea Vikström Egg) and some guests (Ronnie Atkins, Bruce Kulick) recording a few songs with accompanying videos for YouTube which in turn led to ten songs which in turn led to a crowd-funded album back in 2020. Fast forward to the end of 2021 and the birth of a new record-company Atomic Fire earlier on who decided to sign At The Movies as one of their first signings, releasing both the debut album and the new record of 90’s movie-scores at the same day.
Opening with “Waiting For A Star To Fall”, originally by Boy Meets Girl from the movie “Three Men And A Little Baby”, it might be a bit odd choice for an opening track as it’s a bit of a softie and this version is quite smooth and slick where the pop-vibes takes over from the rock ones. But Linnea sings it brilliantly, it holds a nice groove and the guitar replaces the saxophone from the original – and it’s catchy as damn. I dig. “King Of Wishful Thinking” (Go West) from Pretty Woman is given a chunky guitar-riff, groovy bass-lines and a steady beat and some killer vocals from Strid. The chorus is massively catchy with a million hooks and I have feeling this one will go down brilliantly live. A great song from go and now even better. Awesome.
Chesney Hawkes “The One And Only” (“Doc Holiday) was a guilty pleasure of mine from go and here the song gets a rockier upgrade with a crunchy guitar, Egberg’s pumping bass lines and Vikström-Egg’s phenomenal vocals with Sandager’s keyboards throwing in an 80’s touch soundwise. It’s an uplifting number, catchier than chlamydia and it deserves to be a major hit once more. I love this. Ronan Keeting’s ballad “When You say Nothing At All” was a real cheese-bomb in its original form, way too syrupy for me. Here it’s still sugary but more in a power ballad kind of way. It’s been given a fat drum sound, rowdier guitars and a heavier outlook where Strid backed up by Vikström-Egg throws in a glistening vocal-performance. Norgren’s solo is of late 80’s Hard Rock kind and is brilliant. To say they bettered the song is the understatement of the year. I actually like the song here.
Another song I might not disliked but sure wasn’t a big fan of is Cutting Crew’s “(I Just) Died In Your Arms” from “Never Been Kissed”. I just thought it was way too cheese-glossy. There’s some gloss kept in this version but at least we get some crunchy guitars and a bigger stomp in the rhythm section. Also, the dynamic between Strid and Vikström shines through here – they sure work together brilliantly. It might not be my favorite on the album but it’s still a good version.
Whenever I hear a Max Martin penned song, it always sounds like a melodic Hard Rock tune in a modern pop-suit – nothing strange about that as Martin used to be a Hard Rock singer – and I have always wondered how those tunes would sound played by Hard Rock bands. Well, Britney Spears’ “(You Drive Me) Crazy” from the movie with the same name on this album answers that question. With a big respect to the original, ATM makes a melodic Hard Rock bouncer out of the song and in my mind, this is exactly how it should sound. Also, with Spears might not be the strongest vocalist ever, it’s a real treat to hear Linnea show us all how it’s done. I like the song in it’s original form but this one’s a killer in my book.
Belinda Carlisle’s “Heaven Is A Place On Earth” (“Romy And Michelle’s High School Reunion”) has to my ears always sounded like a forgotten Bon Jovi pearl in a pop-robe and I have always loved the song. It’s sung mostly by Strid and he sings it with all the glory. It’s slightly heavied up, more guitar laden but with the big keyboards on top. It lies quite close to the original style-wise and I wouldn’t have minded if they had hard-rocked and fatted it up a notch or two more. That said, the band does a great version of an already great tune and Strid and Vikström shares the chorus, making it massive. Very good.
Jennifer Paige’s “Crush” (“The Crush”) however, has been given a real make-over. The original is a cute song, absolutely, but also quite light-weight so it feels good that ATM has given it a powerful crunch all over. The opening riff is metal-fueled with a thunderous rhythm-section that’s even headbang-friendly, it’s upbeat and firey while the chorus is a bit more pop-laden. Again, Linnea and Björn shares vocals and again, their dynamic is striking and the song fits them both like a glove. Great. Londonbeat’s “I’ve Been Thinking About You” is a tune I never could stand and the album’s beforehand only “oh no” moment. However, the song has also been heavied up, especially the beginning comes with some really gritty guitars and some metal-edgy guitar solos shows. Still, the song takes a more poppy way throughout the song and even though I don’t think it’s bad, it’s my least favorite song on the album, although miles better than the original. Also, the song is a fuck-up as it’s not in any movie, the guys just thought it was. Funny indeed.
“Venus” was originally performed by Shocking Blue back in 1969 but has since then been covered lots of times and it appears in many movies. ATM version is one groovy bastard with a rocky outlook and some funky rhythms. What I discovered while listening to it is that both the verses’ bass lines and vocal-melody reminds me of Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On A Prayer”. Well, to be correct, it’s the other way around. Anyway, it’s a good cover, quite beefy, full of hooks and catchiness and I dig. As a closer, Backstreet Boys’ “I Want It That Way”, the second tune from “Drive Me Crazy”. This sugary pop-ballad is still quite sugary here but again, it’s taken the shape of an early 90’s power ballad. The guitars are grittier and more prominent and the drums comes with fat chug. The song has always been a shrug of the shoulder for me but ATM really makes the song work and now at first I can hear what a damn good song it actually is. Very good.
So how does this season stand up to the previous one then? Well, in my personal opinion, there were better songs in the 80’s movies than the 90’s so I hold that one higher but that being said, this record is a great record as well. Just like on the debut it contains tunes I never gave the time of day back when but upgraded by ATM, they really shine. The musicians are all world-class, of course and the production is really stellar – and Strid and Vikström-Egg, two very different singers, is a match made in heaven as far as I’m concerned. If you were a fan of the debut then this one’s a no-brainer and if you weren’t, well, you damn well should be. Me, I just can’t wait for season 3.
8/10
More At The Movies reviews:
The Soundtrack To Your Life Vol. I
Tracklist:
1. Waiting For A Star To Fall
2. King Of Wishful Thinking
3. The One And Only
4. When You Say Nothing At All
5. (I Just) Died In Your Arms
6. (You Drive Me) Crazy
7. Heaven Is A Place On Earth
8. Crush
9. I‘ve Been Thinking About You
10. Venus
11. I Want It That Way
CD & Festival reviews 