Sweden has just unearthed another West Coast/AOR sensation, with Alexander Kronbrink and his Sonic Station project.
Written by: gdmonline
ARTIST: Sonic Station
ALBUM: Sonic Station
LABEL: Frontiers
SERIAL: FRCD 544
YEAR: 2012
CD REISSUE: Discogs Reissue List
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: Sweden
LINEUP: Alexander Kronbrink – guitars, keyboards, backing vocals
Marika Willstedt, Magnus Backlund, Kristoffer Fogelmark, Tove Lo – lead vocals * Marika Willstedt, Kristoffer Fogelmark, Oskar Nilsson, Matilda Bord – backing vocals * Jonathan Fritzen, Marika Willstedt, David Larson – keyboards * Henrik Linder, Johan Hanson-Larson, Erik Metall, Kristofer Sundstrom, Johan Ivansson – bass * Aron Mellergardh, Thern Pettersson & Niklas Almgren – drums * Andreas Ekstedt – percussion * Conny Lindgren – saxophone * Erik Palmberg – trumpet, flugelhorn
TRACK LISTING: 01 Intro * 02 Love’s Gonna Show The Way * 03 I Wish I Could Lie * 04 Hold On To Me * 05 You Have To Let Me Go * 06 The Most Beautiful Fear * 07 Running Through The Night * 08 Never Let The Sunshine Die * 09 My Last Refrain * 10 Love You More * 11 Reasons
RATING: 95/100
WEBLINKS: Site Link
Sonic Station Background
Sweden has just unearthed another West Coast/AOR sensation, with Alexander Kronbrink and his Sonic Station project.
I’ve been playing this non-stop, after seeing and hearing the You Tube promo clip a couple of weeks ago. The music is admirably stuck within those two sub-genres. It is the variety and quality of the songwriting and arrangements that will bring home the bacon time and again.
Trying to pick the eyes out of Sonic Station was particularly easy. Reading Kronbrink’s bio on the Sonic Station website was a glimpse into his history. Plus there are the nfluences and collaborations with friends and musicians. Some even play on this fantastic easy-on-the-ear album.
There’s west coast and AOR, obviously. Plus we’ll throw in a hint of smooth jazz, ambient melodic rock, and hi-tech styles. All contributing to one of the rookie albums of 2012 thus far!
The Songs
So let’s pick this album apart, because it really is a case of fine wining and dining. No vultures and scavengers here!
Moving beyond the ambient synth opening ‘Intro’, we head directly into the glorious West Coast/AOR of ‘Love’s Gonna Show The Way’. It has the Fergie Frederiksen lookalike Magnus Backlund handling lead vocals. The song has a beautiful structure topped with a singalong chorus that’ll be in your brain for weeks on end.
Keyboardist/vocalist Marika Willstedt is the focal point on ‘I Wish I Could Lie’, this one sounding similar to Angela & The Rude. In fact Marika has Angela Groothuizen attributes all round, from the vocals to the photogenic looks. Hmmm..
The ballad ‘Hold On To Me’ is the only disappointment on the album for me sung by Kristoffer Fogelmark. It’s just far too mellow. It’s a tender ballad with saxophone providing the melting moments. Think Michael Learns To Rock at their most wimpiest.
Much better is the rocky ‘You Have To Let Me Go’ featuring Tove Lo on lead vocals. This is about as close as you’re gonna get to countrymen Broke N Blue without stealing their identities and drivers licenses.
Lars Abramhamsson really should have a listen to this, and ponder the thought of patent theft! Nah just kidding, but it really is doppleganger stuff IMO.
The gentle midwest wash of ‘The Most Beautiful Fear’ drifts on a cloud of featherweight melody, very nice indeed.
Willstedt returns for the ambient ‘Running Through The Night’. it’s another aimed squarely at the Broke N Blue sound, perfect mid-paced AOR mostly with a sonic lift occurring on the big sounding chorus.
One of the highlights for me is in the incredible ‘Never Let The Sunshine Die’, which is Dare circa ‘Out Of The Silence’ revisited with astounding results. The guitar solos provided by Kronbrink are off the chart. And if you liked what Vinny Burns did with Dare, then this is a compulsory listen. Fogelmark sounds even better singing on this track than the previous ballad. The outro guitar solo is one for the ages.
‘My Last Refrain’ is very much west-coast oriented with a hint of AOR, like Shakatak doing something in those genre’s. Again, Willstedt handles the vocals, and the thing comes off as smooth as silk.
The keyboard/guitar interplay and overall ambience of ‘Love You More’ is deep and intense. The soundscape similar to what you heard on Neal Schon‘s ‘Late Nite’, mixed with a dose of ambient Iona. Willstedt and Fogelmark combine for joint lead vocals, an impressive song.
Sonic Station finishes up with the lush and laid back ‘Reasons’. It’s more of a female vocal outing, with a focus on Marika’s voice, which is really good and classy.
After listening to bonafide vocal divas Wendy Moten and Lara Fabian recently, could Marika be the next vocal queen?
As it turns out, she is quite familiar on Swedish TV, appearing on the game show ‘Så ska det låta’, which sounds like the Swedish equivalent of the Australian show ‘RocKwiz’.
In Summary
I won’t muck about trying to sum this album up. In all haste, grab this album pronto if you enjoy a mere modicum of melodic music. It really is worth a small investment to procure on CD. Enough said.
Sonic Station on Video
Click to go to YTM album page.
