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""Brace For Impact" is not the confirmation Perfect Plan were hoping for, as they try to hide their limited inspiration behind the performance of their frontman, who ends up trying too hard."
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3/5
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Beyond their real qualities, the first two albums by Sweden's Perfect Plan had shone the spotlight on a surprisingly unknown singer. Since then, Kent Hilli has been in the spotlight, and his career has taken off as belatedly as it has deservedly. Between his solo productions, his integration into Giant ("Shifting Time") and his participation in various projects within the Frontiers stable, the frontman now has a very busy schedule. However, he manages to find time for a new opus with his bandmates, and "Brace For Impact" arrives on our decks, maintaining the Swedish quintet's rhythm of one release every two years.
While Hilli and his band encourage us to prepare for the impact, we have to admit that it doesn't quite live up to expectations from the Scandinavian combo. Admittedly, the tone has been slightly hardened and the production is once again impeccable, but the feeling that Perfect Plan is trying to capitalize on its singer's notoriety quickly becomes pervasive. Indeed, the singer tends to overdo it, as if trying to mask a waning inspiration. Several tracks seem to have been heard a thousand times before, and the shadow of Europe's "Out Of This World" even hovers insistently over part of the tracklist. The best example of this is probably 'Devil's Got The Blues', with its heavy, bluesy touches, on which Hilli's vocals resemble those of Joey Tempest. The singer even goes so far as to reproduce his legendary mentor's annoying tendency to multiply unnecessary shouts at the start of each track.
Let's be clear, "Brace For Impact" is not a bad album, and it will satisfy more than one pair of genre-loving ears. In the end, the return to 80s AOR is shamefully enjoyable when the choruses become hyper-catchy ('If Love Walks In', 'Walk Through Fire'), while some of the more incisive jabs hit the mark ('Can't Let You Win'). The shadow of Treat also hovers over the effective 'Gotta Slow Me Down' and 'Still Undefeated', with its hints of Anders Wikstrom's 'Ready For The Taking'. Perfect Plan is even capable of creating some rather successful dramatic atmospheres ('Stop The Bleed'), and Leif Ehlin gives a fine performance, standing in for the relatively subdued Rolf Nordström. But this is not enough to overcome the unpleasant sensation of having to deal with an opus multiplying the clichés of the genre (the ballad 'My Angel').
"Brace For Impact" isn't the confirmation we were expecting from Perfect Plan, who tries to hide his limited inspiration behind Kent Hilli's performance, which ends up overdoing it. The formula simply reproduces a recipe already used by the masters of the genre three decades earlier. Here's a first misstep for this talented band which should perhaps take the time to focus on the quality of their writing rather than multiplying their productions at a frantic pace? - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Surrender - 5:22
 02. If Love Walks In - 5:06
03. Can't Let You Win - 4:32
04. Gotta Slow Me Down - 5:11
05. Stop The Bleed - 5:39
06. My Angel - 4:54
07. Devil's Got The Blues - 4:22
08. Bring Me A Doctor - 4:36
10. Emelie - 4:40
11. Walk Through Fire - 5:31
LINEUP:
Fredrik Forsberg: Batterie
Kent Hilli: Chant
Leif Ehlin: Claviers
Mats Byström: Basse
Rolf Nordström: Guitares
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READERS
-/5 (0 view(s))
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STAFF:
3/5 (1 view(s))
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