Website (Label)
Frontiers Records
by Craig Hartranft, 08.15.2013
Find Me is the collaboration of musician, songwriter, producer Daniel Flores (Issa, The Murder of My Sweet, Seventh Wonder) and Robbie LaBlanc from Blanc Faces. The partnership was organized by Frontiers Records President Serafino Perugino hoping to unleash another AOR melodic behemoth. I think he did.
This duo is a powerful combination. LaBlanc is a mighty, crazy good, singer who soars on every song. Flores is a massive talent as well: a good songwriter and drummer and, as a producer, able to lure some additional great talent to make powerful good music. He enlisted help from Sören Kronqvist (Crash the System, Sunstorm), Erik Mårtensson (Eclipse, W.E.T., Jimi Jamison), Alessandro Del Vecchio (Hardline), and brothers Tom and James Martin (Vega, Sunstorm), together with Issa and Mikey Wilson.
The result is Find Me and their debut album Wings of Love, a strong album of really good AOR melodic rock. The strength is in the song craftsmanship and LaBlanc's incredible vocals. The best songs draw you in with these characteristics, but also strong melodic lines and ever so catchy hooks in lyrics and arrangement.
Notable from the start is the hard rocker Road to Nowhere, which moves with as much stealth as a freight train, yet lays the foundation for the melodic rock that comes. Dancing to a Brokenheart, On the Outside, Bottom of My Heart, Unbreakable, and the simply brilliant One Soul all turn on some quite catchy choruses that LaBlanc elucidates with passion. Strangely, Wings of Love contains only one ballad, hard to believe on an AOR album. Yet this one moves more like an arena anthem as it slowly builds to a crescendo with a soaring guitar solo. But these are everywhere, and they're quite tasty. On the weaker side of things are two songs, Firefight and Powerless, both good songs but not as strong as the rest. Nevertheless, don't let this comment dissuade from enjoying this album. Find Find Me and buy it. Strongly 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.
Destined to an AOR melodic rock behemoth of epic and entertaining proportion, find Find Me's Wings of Love and buy it. Strongly recommended.
eviewing my archives, I was pleased to find that I have had the privilege to review every Lionville since their self-titled debut in 2011. Formed by Stefano Lionetti, a songwriter, singer and guitarist based in ... [ Read More ]