Review Summary: A loving AOR homage with the potential for something even better
Featuring members of Cauldron and Axxion, Lockhart is committed to an AOR vision on a different side of eighties worship than NWOTHM fare. Comparisons to groups like Survivor and Loverboy are actively encouraged through thoroughly polished production, ultra-melodic structures, and the sort of sunny gloss tailor-made for summer listening. This being achieved with little in the way of irony poisoning registers as outright miraculous.
“Together As None” is an interesting indicator of the process at hand, repurposing a song that had previously appeared on Cauldron’s New Gods. While this version keeps the bouncy rhythm and singalong chorus, it gets set apart by means of cleaner instrumentation with brassy synths and almost wispy vocals. It’s admittedly easy to view it as wimpy in light of the original’s more urgent grime, but it fits in fairly well.
Elsewhere, the opening title track sets a grandiose stage that recalls Van Halen’s “Right Now” with crystalline keyboards peppering a bass-driven stomp and echoing vocals. “Can’t Shake Up” is the sort of upbeat rocker just poised to be a retro movie’s opening credits anthem while “The Dose That Made You Poison” avoids feeling too stock thanks to its active jumps between tinkling keys and building chugs. Even if there are admittedly a couple points where the album’s thirty-two minutes feel a bit longer, other tracks like “You Wouldn’t Know Love” and the closing “No Chance In Heaven” put in their own solid earworms.
Overall, City Pulse is a loving AOR homage that sets up potential for something even greater. While the execution could’ve been boosted with more vocal power or some tighter pacing, Lockhart’s dedication shines through their enthusiastic performances. The songs are also crafted well enough to maintain those easygoing summer vibes, still working toward the prowess of a Night Flight Orchestra or H.E.A.T. but giving those with the taste for this sorta thing plenty to enjoy.
