BALTIMOORE – Back For More (2014)

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Brainchild of singer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Björn Lodin, BALTIMOORE started its journey in 1987 releasing a bunch of celebrated AOR / melodic rock albums. Together with various outstanding musicians, the Swedish band has released 12 records to date morphing to more harder sounds.
“Back For More” is the fresh effort from Baltimoore, which led by the distinctive voice of Lodin fuses traditional hard / melodic rock textures with a few left turns and interesting musical twists.

In the line-up are some old faces from Baltimoore’s past in bassist Weine Johansson and keyboardist Örjan Fernkvist, who are joined with a couple youngs in guitarist Mats Attaque and drummer Klas Anderhell.
Bjorn Lodin is still the principle songwriter so the bands trademark sound is still here in spades.
Opener “Cry Out For Innocence” blasts out the speakers with biting intent and Lodin sounds suitably aggressive in his vocal delivery. With a fast paced riff that wouldn’t be out of place on an MSG record (along with a hint of Uriah Heep’s Easy Livin) this is powerful stuff. New lead guitarist Mats Attaque makes a great first impression with some soaring lead lines and it all adds up to a great opening track.

“Don’t Say No” keeps the tempo and momentum high but is a more commercial flavoured rocker with a truly infectious chorus. The bottom end is truly thunderous and once again Attaque lays down another blistering performance.
“Until The End Of The Line” slips into mid-tempo waters for a dual faceted track which fuses a restraint verse before building for the bridge and ultimately hitting its stride for the melody rich chorus. Lodin knows how to craft a song and this is a strong example of how he likes to tease the listener with giving them something traditionalists would appreciate before throwing in a curveball. A song with good radio potential.

The press sheet says some tracks were originally written with Lodin’s other oufit HARD in mind. “Are You Onto Me” may well be one of these numbers as its sounds pretty similar to feel with Lodin’s work on his two efforts with the aforementioned outfit.

“Break Into Something New” is another melodic rock song with Lodin throwing down his poppy vocal for the verse before rising to the rock occasion for the main hooks (the pre-chorus is another charmer) and chorus. It’s an enjoyable track with a fun nature.
You might think it would be time for a breather but the band keep the rock going for “Means To An End” and it has one of my favourite vocal deliveries on the album from Lodin. Some really cool harmonised lead guitar fills are here too.
“Gun Of Doom” initially starts out pretty basic but moves into more interesting waters after the monotonous opening and verse riff which do drone on a little, but the bridge and chorus provide a real drive, it’s probably the least accessible track on the album and does take a few listens to reveal its character.
Track 8 “Sunshine In The Rain” brings up the albums lightest moment with a shuffle feel, something Lodin likes to have on most albums he has done. You can see why as he knows how to lay a vocal over this feel perfectly, its a track which has a positive chorus, yet has a dark side elsewhere.

“Say It Like It Is” is a slowish track with nice variety, elaborated vocals and hanging chords at the bridge. Punching in and out of Lodin’s vocals are some call and response lines from Attaque. It’s a slow burner but after several listens of the album has become one of my favourites.
The title track close the album with a main riff inspired by traditional Swedish folk rhythms, but given the Baltimoore rock edge. There is really no-one else out there doing anything like this and its makes for a very original and interesting sound, although the chorus doesn’t always sit easy with the rest of the track. Once again though good performances all around and that main riff is a delight to the ears.

Overall the twelfth album from Baltimoore “Back For More” is another very strong effort. It’s hard to really say they sound like x and x, the band do have their own sound which is based on influences you may be able to call, but there’s a lot of originality here.
Once again Bjorn Lodin and co. have delivered another very good album which may alienate some people due to its lack of conformity in what maybe ‘expected’ in a hard / melodic rock sound, but for those that likes twists and turns in their music this is Very Recommended.

01 – Cry Out for Innocence
02 – Don’t Say No
03 – Until the End of the Line
04 – Are You On to Me?
05 – Break Into Something New
06 – Means to an End
07 – Gun of Doom
08 – Sunshine in the Rain
09 – Say It Like It Is
10 – Back for More

Björn Lodin – vocals, guitars
Mats Attaque – guitars, backing vocals
Örjan Fernkvist – keyboards
Weine Johansson – bass
Klas Anderhell – drums

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