Swedish melodic rockers Rockett Love have been around since the mid 2010’s. They are like the Swedish equivalent of Harem Scarem.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Rockett Love
ALBUM: Galactic Circus
LABEL: Pride And Joy Music
SERIAL: PJM13613
YEAR: 2023
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Sweden
LINEUP: Daniel Samuelsson – lead vocals * Stefan Westerlund – guitars, vocals * Gustaf Eklund – lead guitars, vocals * Dennis Vestman – bass, vocals * Fredrik Ahlin – drums, percussion, vocals
TRACK LISTING: 01 Never Look Back * 02 Too Much Water Under The Bridge * 03 Running Out Of Time * 04 Under The Gun * 05 Easy Come And Easy Go * 06 On The Radio * 07 Talk To Ya Later * 08 The Angels Cry * 09 Fly Away * 10 Last Men Standing * 11 The Higher You Rise
RATING: 65/100
WEBLINKS: FB Page
Rockett Love Background
Swedish melodic rockers Rockett Love have been around since the mid 2010’s. They are like the Swedish equivalent of Harem Scarem. Though they have former Grand Design personnel in their ranks, they don’t go down that path.
We’re up to album number three with ‘Galactic Circus’. Rockett Love have been off the scene since 2019. Covid probably had a major impact on their fortunes. The lineup is still intact, though they are now on a new label Pride And Joy Music. This was due to their previous label AOR Heaven retiring in 2022.
Eclipse main man Erik Mårtensson is behind the desk once more. He also worked on 2019’s ‘Greetings From Rocketland’. So it seems the Rocketeer are in good hands.
The Songs
We’re off to a good start with ‘Never Look Back’. Very crisp, very modern day Swedish melodic rock. Very much the effect of a Nordic production line.
‘Too Much Water Under The Bridge’ displays its Harem Scarem headlights early on. Samuelson’s vocals are very similar to Harry Hess. Perhaps Harry should let him audition for First Signal?
‘Running Out Of Time’ is an angst filled rocker with a load of cymbal crashes. It’s not really AOR and is only marginally melodic rock.
I didn’t quite buy into ‘Under The Gun’. The slow pace probably should’ve relegated this down the track order. It’s not all bad, the chorus is great. Again the Harem Scarem comparison is hard not to miss.
Rockett Love get back on track for ‘Easy Come And Easy Go’. This is the style they are best remembered by. The dual guitar crunch and shout-out choruses are their bread and butter.
There’s a lot of phaser effects going with ‘On The Radio’. It reinforces their approach to a punchy style of hard rock. It’s not the only bit of ammo in their toolkit. They bring it out as a change up to their typical melodic rock sound.
‘Talk To Ya Later’ is a cover of The Tubes. Haven’t heard too many bands attempting to cover this. Good on Rockett Love for giving it a shot.
More guitar phasing precedes ‘The Angels Cry’, though the song itself didn’t do a lot for me. The coarse vocals didn’t connect unfortunately.
‘Fly Away’ is the album’s ballad moment, though it’s not a wimp out. Far from it. However it comes across as a hollow affair, trying hard ro engage the listener but not quite getting there.
‘Last Men Standing’ is a reasonable effort. Admittedly it doesn’t have the desperation and anguish that the song title deserves. Maybe Erik should’ve sent Rockett Love to a Swedish Bootcamp in the middle of winter to prepare them?
‘The Higher You Rise’ finishes up the album. It was another good outing, but not a great one. It just have any hooks to hang my hat on. And that comment would apply generally across the whole album.
In Summary
Rockett Love have released three albums now, and in my opinion this one would rank below the previous two. Certainly the production is not up for question. It never has been, thanks to Beau Hill and Erik Mårtensson’s involvement across those three albums.
That just leaves the songwriting. Some of it is great. ‘Never Look Back’ and ‘Easy Come And Easy Go’ are two good examples. Maybe Rockett Love just need to tweak this, and revisit what worked for them previously. They’re not too far off the mark.
Rockett Love on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
