Comes across more like a well-recorded demo than a polished studio recording.
Onroxx is a slightly strange brew. Per-Åke Walldén is a multi-instrumentalist and this is very much his creation. Despite his skills as a musician, he's gone down the sensible route of not overplaying on tracks and instead concentrates on writing songs where the hook and melody are key. For the most part, this is Melodic Rock with a sense that he's got most of his ideas from the bygone era of the eighties.
'What It Takes' is a sturdy enough start with some melodic guitar and a reasonable stab at a hummable chorus. Much of the record has organ or keyboards to bolster the sound. 'Run' and 'Heaven's Close' also have their moments with glimmers of toe-tapping potential.
Anders Engberg guests on vocals. His voice is serviceable although neither jaw dropping nor particularly unique or identifiable. Some songs falter as on 'Late Night Talk' which tries to get a bit of a sexy groove on but instead comes across like dad dancing. This song is also not helped by having a keyboard that sounds like it was created on a ZX Spectrum.
In the end, it never really shakes the shackles of an album recorded by one individual. Walldén has learned how to do record production in the making of this disc but it does sound like someone learning a new skill. An outside producer could have helped lift the sound; the instruments are clear and distinct but it comes across more like a well-recorded demo than a polished studio recording.
Onroxx, at this stage, is less of a malt whisky that can satisfy the part other drinks can't reach and more of a supermarket own brand that can still supply a flush to the cheeks but is, for now, less satisfying.
Duncan Jamieson
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