Review Summary: I went in suspicious, but I came out in love!
Dear Lauren Harris:
My name is Pete, and I am writing to tell you that I have become your fan.
I first saw you live at a festival in my hometown. I knew absolutely nothing about you going in, other than a nagging suspicion that you’d be Steve Harris’s daughter (after all, Maiden were playing in the festival, too). So I asked my friend what style you played, to which he replied “beach rock”.
Now this left me apprehensive. I took to expecting something overtly poppy, or worse, acoustic. Well, the least I can say is I went in suspicious, but I came out in love.
You and your band really wail live! Wayne Campbell would definitely have approved! (And if you’re as much of a retro rocker as you seem to be, you’ll know who Wayne Campbell is). Needless to say, after the show, I immediately made my way to the merchandising booth and got your record, for a decidedly fair mid-price. Now that I have given it several attentive listens, I am ready to give you my thoughts on it.
First of all, let me state that I really like your partners in crime. Tommy McWilliams is a competent drummer and a great producer (the album sounds wonderful!). As for Richie Faulkner, he may look like a Zakk Wylde impersonator, but he shows perfect control of the Angusian, the Cultian and the Nugentian guitar techniques. I’m sorry that you couldn’t find a residente bassist for these sessions, but it’s good to have a Dad to fall back on, right?! ;) From now on, I think you should just keep Randy Gregg. He’s a decent musician, and he just has that stage attitude down pat – he looks like he just stepped out of an 80’s glam band. (In fact, Tommy does, too. I was telling my friend exactly that when we were watching the show).
I also like the fact that you guys mostly write your own songs. I loathe those bands that use professional songwriters to make their songs into hits – I prefer the honesty of writing your own words and music, like you do here. The two cover songs are OK too, they’re thematically linked to the rest of the songs, and one of them even ranks among the best moments of the album.
Now, before we move on, I want to right a wrong. I saw several reviews of your album which were less than sympathetic, and they all mentioned that your voice sounded like Avril Lavigne. That’s complete bull***. You sound like those 80’s hard rock singers. Your voice reminds me of Joan Jett or Lita Ford, whom you probably like. But darling…maybe it’s just me being influenced by those other writers, but after I read their reviews, I did start finding some Avril traces on two of the songs on the album. For example,
Your Turn is a great hard rock track, so why oh why must you sing it with Lavignian inflections!? And on
Get Over It, you tread dangerously close to the edge. I’m happy to see that you never cross it, but that song is definitely the odd man out on this album.
Also, there are a few details that need to be honed.
From the Bottom to the Top is just a tremendously silly title for a song, especially for such a great ballad. And that UFO cover…? Nuh-uh. Sorry love, I know you tried your damnedest, but…no. And calling it a “special bonus track” was not a smart move at all, either. I also feel that you need to get rid of that ridiculous, drab
You Say song. I appreciate that you were trying to go for something different, but you failed. Sorry, darling.
I also have to mention your lyrics. Lines like “count 1, 2, 3, you’re inside of me” would be fine if you were eleven, but as a twentysomething, they just sound stupid. I realize you were quite young when you started writing this album, but still…it detracts from all that is good about your music.
Last but not least, putting your strongest track out front can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it showcases the best of your work straight away, but on the other it diminishes everything that comes afterwards. And
Steal Your Fire is such a damn good song, that that just ends up happening.
However, all of that is compensated by what I call the “good part” of the album, i.e., the half-a-dozen tremendous foot-tappers you sprinkle throughout.
Steal Your Fire is the obvious standout, even though it’s a cover, it’s just such a tremendous track! Every time I hear that main riff, I just can’t help raising my fist and ROCKING OUT! The same can be said, albeit to a lesser extent, for original compositions such as
Like It Or Not or
Let Us Be. And the two ballads are just beautiful!
From the Bottom to the Top took me right back to the 80’s, whereas the acoustic
Hurry Up is a beautiful intimate moment. The other songs all keep a decent writing level, and whiz by one’s ears agreeably. There are some nice audio references, too - is that The Darkness I hear on
See Through?
Live, I thought you had good riffs, but lacked some choruses. On the album, I see that they are present, and enforced through repetition. Fortunately, though, you never fall into the same trap your Daddy does – that of chorus over-repetition. You need to teach good old Dad a lesson or two on the subject – seriously, ever heard
Rainmaker? I also like the fact that your lyrics have something to say, rather than serving as a mere frame to wrap around the chorus.
So to sum it up, this is a pretty decent first effort from you. I approve of your attitude of making the album available for download, so that folk could listen to it and decide if they wanted to buy it. I wasn’t fortunate enough to hear it – or download it, for that matter – but I got it, and was pleased anyway.
However, I cannot give you the 4/5 that your live performance deserves. On record, there are still some details to work on, some small adjustments to make. But you should have no problem dealing with those. I expect your next album will be a pleasant surprise.
So for now, my rating is 3,5/5. My favourite songs are
Steal Your Fire,
Like It Or Not,
From the Bottom to the Top and
Let Us Be (particularly the main riff!). However, I like most of them, apart from the last two. If you chopped them off the album, it would be an easy four!
Well, that’s it for now. I just wanted to add that you’re exactly the kind of girlfriend I needed – one who is hot
and likes to rock!!
Hope you liked my evaluation of the album, I know I’m just one fan – and not even someone famous – but still…
From Lisbon, Portugal, this is Pete signing off!
PB
