Synergy’ is the brand new album from ex-Vixen frontwoman Janet Gardner and her husband Justin James. It would be very easy for anyone with Gardner’s impressive musical heritage to simply re-tread old ground and produce something like ‘Vixen mark 2’ but to her everlasting credit, she has not done that and with James has instead come up with a mightily impressive set of powerfully melodic hard rock numbers that, while having some obvious links with her previous band’s style, manage to forge their own identity by building in a range of influences from across the classic and modern hard rock spectrum.
The album kicks off with the first single, ‘Wounded’. I’ve reviewed this track elsewhere on the site, so I’ll not repeat myself here, but I will reiterate that it is a superb piece of melodic hard rock with more than a nod to Vixen in the arrangement and the colossal hooklines. It’s one helluva way to start the album and straight away the listener knows that he/she is in a for a kick-ass ride!
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R8qNBhOWNu4&w=560&h=315]It gets even harder and heavier with the second track ‘You Can Kiss This’. This song is all massive guitar riffs, pounding drums and angry vocals, with the chorus sounding like the very best of the late 80s/early 90s hard rock scene – huge chanting gang vocal hooks over a stomping guitar riff. It’s full of attitude, melody and shredding guitars, yet despite the classic influences, it doesn’t feel dated at all. Powerful stuff!
Things slow down just a tad for ‘Rise Up’, which has a fantastic and classic-sounding bluesy riff against a pedalled bass as its main motif, but also manages to slip some cool 90s rock influences into the mix before the (by now standard) huge chorus. It’s another very big-sounding track and Gardner’s vocals have just the right amount of rasp on that massive chorus. Very impressive!
Running To Her’ is a lot more AOR in its approach. Chiming guitars herald this melodic monster before the bigger guitars kick in during the chorus. The great thing about this track is that, while it is very AOR, it’s still largely guitar-based, with lots of interesting little parts and layers building through the song. The guitar solo on this track is pretty much perfect – hugely melodic and fitting the song so well.
‘Lonely We Fight’ builds some Arabian sounding melody in amongst the riffs before another colossal gang-vocal style chorus. These guys certainly know how to write a cool rock hook. The production and arrangement on this track is really good too; the arrangement of guitar and keyboard parts works so well and Gardner wrenches the rasping vocal from the depths of her soul.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GmVWLSTKpCs&w=560&h=315]Say You Will’ is a lovely ballad with a cool piano-led introduction and some lovely chiming clean guitars. The keyboards are a little more prominent on this track, but that works perfectly and when the big guitars kick in during the chorus we’re firmly back in arena-rock land. It’s a strong track and certainly isn’t the ‘token ballad’ that you sometimes get on hard rock albums.
Gardner’s vocals are softer on this track too, which simply serves to highlight the quality of the performance she is putting in across the entire album.
I Promise’ has the sort of guitar riff you’d expect to find on a Danger Danger album. It certainly has that late 1980s/early 1990s feel. It’s a good track, but somehow feels just a little ordinary compared to what has gone before, although the chorus has a nice little melodic twist that you’re not expecting from the rest of the track.
On A Wire’ has a slightly similar feel but with a rather less obvious guitar riff. It’s hugely melodic and anyone into Vixen or any of the other melodic hard rock/AOR acts from the late 80s and early 90s will find a lot to enjoy within it.
This is probably the most ‘Vixen-like’ vocal on the entire album, especially in that monumentally catchy pre-chorus. The classic AOR keyboard sounds also get a run-out in this track too, but that only adds to its appeal. Great track!
Gone’ takes us back to the big guitar riffage we had earlier in the album. This song has a much more straightforward production. There’s less going on and it just rocks out! Lyrically more throwaway, it’s just a kick-ass fun rock anthem. I bet it kills live!
Flying on Faith’ is a more mid-paced track with a moody AOR keyboard introduction. But again, just when you think you’re getting a generic AOR/melodic rock track, the chorus takes you somewhere else entirely.
The production makes great use of light and shade in this track, with the verses being much more laid back and the choruses kicking out harder. This is another track where the production and arrangement is so important to the overall feel of the song. It’s superbly put together and has another excellent and highly melodic guitar solo.
Talk to Myself’ closes the album in hard rocking style. It’s different from all the other tracks. I can kinda imagine Joan Jett singing this, with its raw guitar riff and snare-heavy drum patterns. Again, I’d imagine that this will be a killer live track as it’s just balls-out energy.
Gardner/James have produced a cracking album here. Stylistically, it covers a lot of ground, from highly melodic AOR to screaming hard rock. The production is good, with the guitar sounds and parts being particularly strong.
Overall, the mix is pretty good too – certainly as good or better than a lot of similar stuff out there at the moment. Janet Gardner’s vocals are superb too; soft and pure on the laid-back parts and raw, rasping and kick-ass when the tracks rock out. She has lost none of her power over the last 30 years, that’s for sure!
If you’re into classic and modern hard rock, this could easily be an instant purchase. Very, very highly recommended.
Preorder the CD here and get it before the world wide release date: https://bit.ly/3e5ypb4
Review by Andy Hawes for MPM
