DARE: Belief (A.O.R.): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Dare's return with "Calm Before The Storm" had been an event, and Darren Wharton and his band had lived up to it. Surrounded by the same team, bolstered by a few specialists in traditional Celtic folk instruments, the former Thin Lizzy keyboardist is back at it again 3 years later, confirming that he has every intention of making his mark on the melodic rock landscape. "Calm Before The Storm" clearly marked Dare's return to the lands frequented at the time of the legendary "Out Of The Silence". The new album, "Belief", confirms this course without falling into repetition.

Indeed, Wharton enriches his music with Celtic elements that reinforce its melodic and melancholy character. The whole remains very ethereal and the power is essentially to be found in the feelings, but Dare never makes the mistake of falling into mawkishness. 'Silent Thunder' and 'Dreams On Fire', the first two tracks on this album, flirt with what Dare was capable of in their early days, the presence of whistle and uilleann pipe easily compensating for the absence of a second keyboard. And we're intoxicated by the rising power of these tracks, carried by the warm, feeling-filled voice of its leader, who is sometimes backed up by backing vocalist Sue Quin on certain tracks ('Belief', 'We Were Friends', 'Phoenix'...), while the rest of the band provides superb vocal harmonies throughout the album.

There are, of course, plenty of ballads, each one hitting the mark. While 'Take Me Away' remains relatively classic, 'Belief' rises to the top after an airy opening, before ending with a solo bursting with feeling. But the pinnacle of the genre is undoubtedly reached on 'We Were Friends', whose melancholy, atmospheric introduction is followed by a melody with Pink Floyd-like accents that slowly builds in intensity. Suffice it to say that the emotion is at its peak, even if this feeling does not leave us throughout the 11 tracks that make up this collection of musical reverie. And if the intensity s slightly, it's all the better to allow us to sink into the softness of 'Phoenix', which brings to a close almost 55 minutes of a journey over the green, misty landscapes of the Celtic lands.

If it doesn't reach the intensity of "Out Of The Silence", "Belief" nevertheless stands out as a real success for a band whose identity is as strong as it is delicate. Rich in emotion, Dare's music opens up new horizons for AOR by including folkloric elements and a skin-deep sensitivity typical of Celtic lands. - Official website

DARE

BELIEF

SPV STEAMHAMMER

A.O.R.