Three years ago, Finnish ONE DESIRE got a breakthrough with their self-titled debut disc. Their hit single "Hurt" has millions of views or streams on both YouTube and Spotify. Now the second album "Midnight Empire" has arrived. It is a worthy sequel, which holds the same line as its forerunner. They have found their sound and continue with their commercial style.
Overall, it is a nice, clean production. Like on their first material, they give us soft Rock with splendid quality. It leans more towards Pop, but a guitar solo here and there also adds a rockier touch to the whole thing. Many of my non-Hardrocking friends will love this, so I guess they appeal to most, no matter what genre of music you like. ONE DESIRE are good at what they do and even if you could compare with others, they have their own sound.
They were already formed in 2012 by drummer Ossi Sivula, at first as a project. A couple of years later he met the producer, guitarist and songwriter Jimmy Westerlund. Jimmy had just moved back to Finland from Los Angeles and together with him this group found a new musical direction. 2016 Westerlunds friend André Linman from STURM UND DRANG joined the band as the singer. Shortly after that, bass player Jonas Kuhlberg made the group complete. After the release of their first work, in 2017, a successful European tour with ECLIPSE followed.
This is a band with, at least on the first record, two fantastic lead guitarists. Besides Jimmy, also singer André. How much guitar Linman plays on the new production, I will leave it unsaid, but it is mainly Westerlund who plays this instrument and above all in a magnificent way. That, in my opinion, is what lifts everything to a level which is better than good. You can actually hear it all the time, but it is especially excellent in "Through The Fire", "Shadowman", "Heroes", "Killer Queen" and "Down And Dirty".
I will now pause and talk a little more about the last mentioned tune. Except the usual drums, here is something I call rhythm drums, in the form of keyboards. Something I first experienced as strange, when it feels unnecessary, but is common in pop music of today. With the title "Down And Dirty" I expected a slightly harder sound, at least a higher tempo and a little more rough. They surprised me with synth-drum-beats “á la Pop” and then it sounds very much like a boyband.
I am not fond of pre-programmed music loops, which could have been played by the groups own guitarists, bassist and drummer. When you also start mixing the singing to get it perfect, then it gets overworked and the authenticity is lost. It does not happen many times, but occasionally it is there. André can really sing, so it is not necessary.
However, one track that is very interesting and outstanding is "Through The Fire". It is varied and has a good structure. Here we find a different, noticeable presence than on the rest of the record. Truly a brilliant song to listen to over and over again. Acoustic guitar begins and after the second verse the energy-filled chorus kicks off. In my opinion, this is definitely the album's best work.
"Midnight Empire" is Pop Rock straight through and, I can’t deny it, very catchy. For example, in "After You’re Gone" and "Heroes", at least one of my feet moves spontaneously in pace with the music. In just mentioned piece it is also played very nicely on the keyboard. ONE DESIRE has something that catches the listener. Whatever it is, the final result from these guys is very well done. (Anna)
Bewertung:
7 / 10
Anzahl der Songs: 10
Spielzeit: 51:36 min
Label: Frontiers Music s.r.l.
Veröffentlichungstermin: 22.05.2020
