STRANGER (Arg) – Stranger (2013)
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In our tireless search in every corner of the planet aiming to present to you how our beloved musical genres are growing, we found STRANGER, from Argentina.
Formed three years ago far away from the big lights of the country’s capital city, this female fronted melodic hard rock band carries the torch of the genre with passion.
Surely not the most propitious place on Earth to play this type of music, but these young guys are decided to do what they love.
And they should not be doing anything wrong, as this, their debut, will be released soon in the US by Dark Pony Records
Stranger plays classic ’80s melodic hard rock with the typical style of female fronted acts of the era. Their self-titled, self-released album is a cool, nice recording obviously done with a very limited budget yet excudes passion and feeling through its nine compositions.
Title track “Stranger” has a strong If Only / Jackie Bodimead influence in its rhythm and melodic arrangements, reinforced by Emilia Kurday’s colorful – yet quite powerful and melodic – pipes.
“Hide Your Face” is a bit slow paced and intense in the Vixen style, followed by the bluesy melodic rocker “Playing Loud” driven by a fine riff and sporting a good old fashioned guitar solo.
On the slow burner ballad “In The Shadows Of Love” guest male vocalist Ivan Sencion – owner of a slightly raspy voice, Coverdale-influenced – does a nice counterpoint with Emilia’s sensual performance. Keyboards take a more predominant role in this track which raises the tempo in the second half and all members find room to show their capabilities (including a bass solo).
“Running Out” returns to uptempo territory with a strong melodic line, punctuating guitars and a harmonized chorus. One of the best tracks on the disc without a doubt.
Influenced by the ‘Americanized’ Whitesnake arrives “Smashing My Faith”, the hardest song of this recording, where Emilia’s vocalizations reminds me Lee Aaron.
Next it’s time for the real ballad, “How Many Times” pours the earlier Heart and perhaps some Saraya over its acoustic skeleton, then, in the middle, the best guitar solo on the album (really melodious) crowns this solid track adorned with sweet keyboards.
The entitled “Let’s Get Drunk” speaks for itself. It’s a fun hard rocker, almost hair metal in its conception and sound, very Vixen-like especially in the chorus. There’s some vintage keyboards in the background and a pleasant, rockin’ break in the middle. These guys can play a tune.
Bonus “Buscando En Las Sombras” is the Spanish version of “In The Shadows Of Love” (this time with the sole Emilia’s vocals), a nice way to hear how the song sounds in its original language.
Stranger from Argentina plays classic eighties female fronted melodic hard rock with style, and fundamentally, with passion for the genre, sadly a bit devalued at the present time all over the world.
The songs have all the spice typical from the ’80s, well constructed and arranged, akin classic bands and solo acts such as Vixen, Lee Aaron, Phantom Blue, Saraya and why not, Lita Ford.
Sure, production and particularly the mix could be a lot better, but considering this is a very, very indie effort, it’s a pleasure to discover that there’s a group of young musicians composing and playing this kind of music in one of the most remote places on the planet.
We need more female fronted Melodic Hard Rock. Kudos to Stanger.
01 – Stranger
02 – Hide Your Face
03 – Playing Loud
04 – In The Shadows Of Love
05 – Running Out
06 – Smashing
07 – How Many Times
08 – Let’s Get Drunk
09 – Buscando En Las Sombras
Emilia Kurday: lead and backing vocals
Gaston Veliz: guitars, backing vocals
Gustavo Fernandez: bass
Guido Jara: drums, backing vocals
Sergio March: keyboards
Ivan Sencion: vocal duet in 4
TBA – Not yet available
