ELECTRIC GUITARS – String Fever (2015)
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A band with a name as awful as ELECTRIC GUITARS can’t possibly be good, can they? The name is so terribly generic, and if you add to that the name of their album; “String Fever”, things turn worse. Well, I am wrong.
When I read the Copenhagen-based quartet was fronted by guitarist & vocalist Søren Andersen – Mike Tramp lead guitar man, Glenn Hughes band and solo artist which very good last album was featured here on the blog – I knew there would be quality here.
“String Fever” is already available in Denmark, with a wide European edition to be distributed soon.
On Electric Guitars, Andersen is joined by Mika Vandborg, one of the most talented and respected guitarists in Denmark (who also handles lead vocals).
Yes, as you would suspect, “String Fever” is twin-guitar attack classic rock / hard rock album, played with attitude and with high caliber riffs all over.
Electric Guitars got a fever – a string fever indeed, rocking throughout the album with electrifying songs like the hot title track with straight up nod towards Jimi Hendrix material.
Then you have a track like “White Flag” with a bluesy hard rock feel ala Led Zeppelin yet much more modern. But again, it re-interprets the old school rock’n’roll approach rather well and without it sounding like an embarrassing derivative copy.
“Let It Rock” blast with a Thin Lizzy / AC/DC rock for the ages, being aired in all its glory. Again, a surprisingly good, strong rendition of a classic sound.
In the middle of the album, the sound becomes more melodic and mainstream with “Girlfriend”, which could easily become a radio hit overnight. There’s even a ‘na na na’ part in it adding catchiness. Actually this is one of the highlights of the album, and it works out really well balancing this heavy rock CD.
The next tracks maintains the slower tempo (nice ballad on “Day Off”), before the string fever takes over, with the sexy and rockin’ “She Wants My Guitar”.
“The Thinner The Eyebrow The Crazier The Woman” which actually is out as a single right now, also gets the rock going, while the album finishes with a more melancholic and dark sound in the form of the groovy and modern “The Man From Outer Space”.
When you opt to reference old greats in as obvious manner as Electric Guitars do here, you best have the songs to stand up for comparison. While it’s, of course, unfair to expect the Danes to live up to such giant expectations, we also have to give credit where credit is due.
“String Fever” is probably the most convincing Classic Rock / traditional Hard Rock album I’ve heard by a Scandinavian band in a long while. That’s saying something considering how many dozens (if not hundreds) of wannabe bands we have in this genre right now.
So do yourself a favor: ignore the limitations of their band name and dive straight into the world of classic riffs delivered with attitude mixed with retro rock’n’roll melodies.
This album has it all.
Strongly Recommended.
01 – String Fever
02 – White Flag
03 – Running Out Of Time
04 – Let It Rock
05 – Girlfriend
06 – Day Off
07 – She Wants My Guitar
08 – Follow Your Heart
09 – Finally Me
10 – The Thinner The Eyebrow The Crazier The Woman
11 – The Man From Outer Space
Søren Andersen – Guitars, Lead Vocals
Mika Vandborg – Guitars, Lead Vocals
Peter Kjøbsted – Bass, Backing Vocals
Morten Hellborn – Drums, Backing Vocals
BUY IT !
targetshop.dk/dk/345463/Electric_Guitars/String_Fever/
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