Life on hold

Where time and budget allow, I will buy albums from unsigned bands - supporting the next generation. Today, I reviewed my copy of Life on Holds untitled debut. A very nice debut, worth listening and an interesting outlook for the future of progressive rock in Sweden.

A Parallel World - Nice track, with a bit of a feeling of desperation in the chorus. "The information world is a parallel world to the real one" - Frank Ådahl makes it sound as if that scares him - and succeeds. The vocals in this track really appeal to me, although the choice of words and construction of sentences apparently make it difficult in some points (chorus) for Frank to keep track with the rest of the instruments. A small hint for the drummer: don't over use your cymbals on this track.... Third best on the album for me.

Sign - really shows why the band needs a singer. Alexander makes a good attempt, but his voice isn't my thing. All in all, this track isn't my favourite on the album either. It's 10 minutes long, but fails to keep my attention in the instrumental parts - which is a pity, because the introduction to this track is very promosing. More variation in the instrumental parts would have saved this track, which appears to be the most (the only?) 'metal influenced' one on the album.

You tell me - An instrumental with great rock guitar work (nice solo!) and a very thorough job on the piano/keyboards. I like this a lot, it rocks, but shows some jazz rock influences as well. Second only to The Proud Mr. Smith.

The Proud Mr. Smith - This was my favourite track from the band's MySpace page, and may very well be my favourite on the CD as well. The verses have nice jazzy feel, due to the piano and the laid back rhythm section, which is very different from the rest of the album. The rather heavy guitar that joins in causes a very interesting soundscape. The instrumental midsection is again quite different, more rocky, but still with some sort of jazz rock influence in it.
Only difficulty I have with this track is the vocals. Three people sing their part in this track, which gives something extra. On the other hand I would have loved to hear how this track sounds with Frank Ådahl on all vocals..... Still, Mr. Smith can be proud indeed.

Broken world - Loads of keyboards, and a vocalist which seems to be uttering his discomfort (Tobias Nilsson this time). The dark atmosphere is created in this manner is very well done, but makes the track a bit too 'dark' for me to really enjoy. Still - well done.

Overall, I am very pleased with this first private release of Life on Hold, a band with potential and a few attention points. Getting a vocalist is the band's current top priority (Frank Ådahl would be a serious candidate in my opinion), after that, working on the lyrics (sometimes the vocal melodies are slightly off track with the music due to choice of words) - and a bit more bass guitar in the final mix.

7.5 out of 10 on your grade card






Edited by Angelo - November 14 2007 at 17:21

Hello there, and a big thumbs up from my ears. You present us with an interesting blend of soundscapes, but first let me take the liberty to copy some band info from your site here.

www.lifeonhold.se wrote: We are Life on hold. Our music is unashamedly progressive. We like to mix different styles and genres, and we try to challenge ourselves, as well as our listeners. We believe that music can and should reflect all aspects of what it means to be human. We think that our music is both dead serious and pure fun at the same time. If you have an open mind, and if you can appreciate music without limits, then you might like what we have to offer. The band has been in existence since late 2005, and the past year was spent writing material, rehearsing and recording a demo.

Well, back to the blend of styles. I hear influences of many bands - which may or may not be adopted conciously, but the effect is great. Some of the vocals on  A Parallel World reminded me of the old (pre-Rocky) Survivor, but the music is a lot more complex. The Proud Mr. Smith is certainly something to be proud of - but be careful not to fall into the trap of showing of on the 'finger speed' parts
I'll be asking for a copy of the CD shortly ...

This is the new Swedish progressive rock band.

Visit:

www.lifeonhold.se