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Secret Smile: This Is Our Time Now

AOR/Melodic Rock

Rating: 4.0/5.0

Envision Records
www.myspace.com/officialsecretsmile
Review: Craig Hartranft,  01.31.2010

Plugging away for nearly ten years around New England, Connecticut's Secret Smile delivers their fifth studio recording This Is Our Time Now, a solid platter of American melodic rock. As spin or two will prove that the Secret Smile is hardly reinventing the wheel on this work. Their sonic vision of melodic rock harkens back to the glory days of the 1980's, possibly even earlier. Both their influences and current sound draws heavily from the likes of Survivor, Def Leppard, Boston, Poison, Bryan Adams. The sound is huge, fitting for the same grand arenas their peers filled back in the day, with layered guitars, glistening keyboard accents, strong melodies, catchy hooks, and big vocal arrangements. Unlike the harsh heaviness of today's modern rock, Secret Smile sounds more pleasant than most stuff going. As off course as their from current trends, what Secret Smile does they do very well. Songs like This Is Our Now, I Believe In You, Heaven Only Knows, and Don't Want To are quintessential and entertaining melodic rock numbers. Ballad schmooze is not lost either on this crew as I Believe In You proves. Though Secret Smile and their honest, historic American melodic rock sound is lost upon fickle American trends, This Is Our Time Now will probably resonant better with our European cousins. It's our loss. This Is Our Time Now is quite recommended.

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

Though Secret Smile and their honest, historic American melodic rock sound is lost upon fickle American trends, This Is Our Time Now will probably resonant better with our European cousins. It's our loss. This Is Our Time Now is quite recommended.

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The Powell Payne project, created in 2022 is the collaboration of Mark "Penfold Powell (ex-drummer of Psycho Kiss) and Adam Payne (former vocalist of Airrace). With guitarist Adam Davies and keyboard player ... [ Read More ]