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Shiraz Lane: For Crying Out Loud

Melodic Hard Rock/Metal

4.0/5.0

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Frontiers Music
Words: Craig Hartranft
Added: 30.03.2016

So here's your regular time machine trip to the late Eighties, with Finland's Shiraz Lane. Formed only a few years back, the five-piece have released an EP, and now return with their first long player, For Crying Out Loud, on the Frontiers Music label.

Shiraz Lane

To say the late Eighties is to say that Shiraz Lane plays melodic hard rock with a metal edge of the big hair sleaze variety. Listening, I would describe them as a mash up of Guns N Roses, Poison, and maybe a little Cinderella. Their tunes are wrapped up in good melodies, solid rock groove, and harmonious vocal arrangement. Actually, the voice of Hannes Kett is probably the first thing that stands out in the Shiraz Lane sound. He has that pitched, some times, screamo hair metal vocal sound popular back in the day. And to be honest, some times I tired of the screamo side, like within Wake Up where he was way over the top.

As for the tunes, here's a few highlights. For pure rock, slippery sleaze, groove, there's Momma's Boy. They play with a little AOR feeling with the catchy M.L.N.W. (Make Love Not War). Perhaps the heaviest song, but in the heavy metal sense, is House Of Card simply for it's deep bottom end. But some of the more interesting songs come when they band adds some subtle blues vibe as with Same Ol Blues, Bleeding, Behind The 8-Ball.

All in all, for Shiraz Lane, For Crying Out Loud is a solid effort: well-developed song composition, good musicianship, and nearly immaculate production. However, the problem is nothing here stuck with me, and I probably won't spin this again. Of all Frontiers releases this month, this is likely my least favorite. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't look into it.

Shiraz Lane - House Of Cards (Official Audio)

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All in all, for Shiraz Lane, For Crying Out Loud is a solid effort: well-developed song composition, good musicianship, and nearly immaculate production.

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