|
|
"Handicapped by an undignified production and a total lack of risk-taking, "Sha Na Na Na" leaves Bai Bang on the edge of a precipice into which it is bound to sink without any real rethinking."
|
3/5
|
|
|
|
On the occasion of the release of "Rock Of Life (Do You Wanna Taste It)", we were concerned about Bai Bang's tendency to recycle a formula that was beginning to run out of steam. If the opportunity to give the new line-up time to settle in had been envisaged, it proves to be out of the question with yet another complete change of personnel surrounding Diddi Kastenholt. Nevertheless, the pink cover of the new opus suggests a return in time for the Swedish band, especially when we discover that it is entitled "Sha Na Na Na". Could all this mean a return to the soothing synthpop of their early days?
The answer is no, and Bai Bang picks up where they left off six years ago. The menu served up here uses the same recipe as it has for the last dozen years, with its FM glam, immediate choruses and obvious good humor. The problem is that the question quickly arises as to the point of serving us the same dishes again, only with different titles. Nevertheless, it's all very pleasant, and we find ourselves regularly tapping our toes and feeling a certain guilty pleasure when listening to most of the tracks on "Sha Na Na Na", starting with the eponymous song, which is as simplistic as it is effective and catchy.
Unfortunately, the imprint left on our neurons quickly fades, and the only tracks left are 'I Don't Really Know', with its pervasive keyboards and Reckless Love-like effluvia, 'Having A Show', which will probably take on its true dimension on stage, and the Def Leppard-like mid-tempo 'Motivated', with its haunting chorus. A rare moment of originality, the cover of local legends ABBA's 'Rock Me' nonetheless struggles to convince with its false audience and very 70's pop sounds. Add to this a drum kit content to be metronomic most of the time and a production cruelly lacking in power, and there's just the minimum left for Bai Bang to avoid going off the rails. As for the sound of this opus, it's not unusual to wonder why two guitarists are included in the line-up if it's to give so much space to keyboards that receive no credit for their interpretation.
The sympathy of Diddi Kastenholt and his band, coupled with a sense of melody as pleasing as the moment this album gives us, saves the whole from a shipwreck it nevertheless skims dangerously close to. It's now clear that Bai Bang are starting to sink into the second division of the genre, and that they'll only be able to see the shadows of Reckless Love and Wig Wam from a distance if they don't get their act together soon. - Official website
|
|
|
|
|
TRACK LISTING:
01. Sha Na Na Na - 3:22
02. My Favorite Enemy - 3:30
03. I Don't Really Know - 3:12
04. I Know All The Hits - 2:40
05. I Wanna Rock N Roll - 2:55
 06. Motivated - 3:23
07. All Alone - 3:06
08. It's Enough - 3:21
09. Rock Me (feat. P-o Nilsson)(cover Abba) - 3:06
10. Having A Show - 2:56
11. That's All I Need (wha Wao Wa) - 2:49
LINEUP:
Christian Lindberg: Guitares
Diddi Kastenholt: Chant
Micke Rosengren: Batterie
Pelle Eliasson: Guitares
Tobbe Skogh: Basse
P-o Nilsson: Invité / Chœurs
|
|
| |
|
(0) MIND(S) FROM OUR READERS
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Top of the page
|
| |
|
|
(1) COMMENT(S)
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
READERS
-/5 (0 view(s))
|
STAFF:
3/5 (1 view(s))
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
OTHER REVIEWS
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|