Degreed - Lost Generation

Degreed – Lost Generation

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We welcome the third review of the Swedish band Degreed on GDM, and its a few years overdue too, however the material overall is a very mixed bag.

Written by: gdmonline

ARTIST: Degreed
ALBUM: Lost Generation
LABEL: Gain Music
SERIAL: 885150700822
YEAR: 2019
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Sweden

LINEUP: Robin Eriksson – vocals, bass * Daniel Johansson – guitars * Mats Eriksson – drums * Micke Jansson – keyboards

TRACK LISTING: 01 Intro * 02 Lost Generation * 03 You All Know My Name * 04 Ruins * 05 Interlude * 06 Summer Of Love * 07 Blue Virgin Isles * 08 Sex * 09 Body Of Work * 10 Born Under A Bad Sign * 11 Don’t Let Go * 12 Alive

RATING: 75/100

WEBLINKS: Site Link

Background

We welcome the third review of the Swedish band Degreed on GDM, and its a few years overdue too. However, it was their fifth album by 2019, so we’ve missed two along the way. The band didn’t receive a lot of love from the established labels in Europe at the time, and it was left to Australian label Melodic Rock Records to initially carry the flame. By 2016, Sweden’s Gain Music Entertainment had come onboard and thus began the second chapter of the Degreed book.

The Songs

For a melodic rock band from Sweden, Degreed do things slightly different from the Nordic norm, their sound not quite as generic as their rivals. In the past I have used bands such as Platitude and Hellfueled as references, but on this album, Degreed opt for the short sharp punch to deliver their form of intense hard rock, but unfortunately the material overall is a very mixed bag as you’ll read below.

Bypassing the brief lead-off ‘Intro’, the radio crackle soon makes way for the first track, ‘Lost Generation’, a snarling rocker given with a middle finger for a deft salute. That attitude is maintained for the equally forthright ‘You All Know My Name’. Easing off the gas, ‘Ruins’ is positively radio friendly by comparison, you’d swear you were listening to a different band!

‘Interlude’ takes the direction change to new levels, this is very serene and pop like. What’s going on? It is only an interlude which leads directly into the next potential radio possibility in ‘Summer Of Love’. It’s not really what I expected to hear from Degreed but I love it. Check the video below for evidence. ‘Blue Virgin Isles’ is the obvious ballad here, and by now tge album has had a complete identity change.

Toward the end of the album now, and things get back on course with a selection of harder tracks more in keeping with this band’s true identity. Both ‘Sex’ and ‘Body Of Work’ lift the game somewhat thank goodness, while ‘Born Under A Bad Sign’ is perhaps atypical of the modern Swedish melodic rock sound. The album slides away at the end, neither ‘Don’t Let Go’ nor ‘Alive’ strike with any real intent, a shame really.

In Summary

If not for the identity change this album could’ve scored higher. Maybe next time. Also during 2019 Degreed recorded a tribute to the late and former Roxette singer Marie Fredriksson with their cover of ‘Spending My Time’.

Degreed as at 2022 are currently signed to Frontiers SRL and their latest album at the time of writing is ‘Are You Ready’. If we get time before the end of the year, we might review that one too. Watch this space and in the meantime catch up with all their previous releases to see what you are missing.

Video

Ruins

Degreed - Ruins (Official Video)

Summer Of Love
Degreed - Summer Of Love (Official Audio)


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