Review Summary: Where Active Rock & AOR Meet...and That's Not a Bad Thing Here!
Harem Scarem are a band that could easily be considered a chameleon of a band. When the started out, the band could easily have passed for a copycat of the likes other Van Halen-esque Hair Metal acts from Extreme to White Lion to Dokken. However, as the tides changed they followed suit. From their strange venture into pseudo Alterna/Art Rock on "Voice of Reason" to the Modern Rock of "Karma Cleansing," not to mention their venture into the sunshine late-90s Sugar Ray/Third Eye Blind Alterna-Pop under the name of Rubber. Well, Harem Scarem once again find themselves slightly changing their sound (just slightly, mind you) on "Higher."
How so, you may ask? The Canadian AOR kings know what's popular. They aren't ignorant of the times and during it's release, a certain other Canadian rock band, Nickelback, was reaching the pinnacle of stardom. So, it's no surprise that the band venture into the style (and it doesn't hurt that both bands vocalists, Harry Hess and Chad Kroeger sound very similar). They don't abandon their guitar rock approach, in fact the closer "Lost" proves that Pete Lesperance can still create great riffs. The band in fact never fully abandon their AOR style, only incorporate elements of Active Rock that make the band sound both contemporary yet nostalgic. The aforementioned "Lost," as well as "Lucky Ones," "Waited," and "Lies" are great examples of this. Other songs on the album, such as the energetic Pop/Rock of "Give It to You" & the "X"-era Def Leppard feel of "Run and Hide" however, sound more modern than classic, which isn't really a bad thing as it never really wanders into faceless territory. While it's far from a standout, especially when compared to past efforts like their eponymous debut, "Mood Swings," and "Karma Cleansing," it's still a fairly solid effort.
