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‘Calm’ Beats Working |
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Band: John Hardman - Vocals,
Lead guitar and Keyboards Tracklisting: 1. Round & Round Opening track ROUND AND ROUND features the perfect melodic intro to such an album. It contains beautiful guitar work yet remains peaceful at the same time. Its only downfall is that the structure becomes repetitive at times. This takes nothing away from the beauty of the music though. The song goes more up-tempo but never loses the melodic feel.
The up-beat ending to ROUND AND ROUND flows nicely into ONE MAN, a more up-tempo offering with a chorus reminiscent of Fleetwood Mac. The song never falters and flows from start to finish with genuine ease. A plain and simple catchy rock track.
WAY DOWN THE LINE features another well worked intro that again makes the listener want to carry on listening, waiting for the next big thing to happen. The intro is a sign of things to come as the song develops from a basic yet effective intro into a ballsy rock track, with the moody guitar work a highlight once again.
Next up is IT WON’T GO BANG, with a more rocking intro in the same style as REM. The song descends into a very soft offering with peaceful vocals and brilliantly catchy harmonies adding to the mix.
LOOKING FOR LOVE has an almost tribal quality about it and is very groove-orientated. It’s a little more up-tempo than some of the other tracks and this adds variety to the album and takes it in another direction.
YOU NEVER GET BACK is a quality melodic-rock offering featuring some catchy vocals and excellent guitar work and sets the listener up nicely for RAISE YOUR HANDS, with another upbeat intro in the style of Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’. The menacing rhythm adds to the effect of this very catchy and chilled out song.
PATHWAY TO YOUR HEART is yet another upbeat song, and is more uplifting than many of the album’s opening songs. It is similar in style to Roxette, embracing the listeners’ senses with its catchy riffs and melodies.
I NEED TO CRY is a more pop-orientated song, sure to get your head moving. Its very groovy with some catchy and intricate guitar work
The drum intro to AIN’T NO TELLIN’ lends itself to the catchy riff that follows. Another unpredictable effort that fits the album well, as no song is like any other.
OBSESSION has a psychedelic intro and actually sounds very heavy, again changing the direction and the mood of the album. What follows is CIRCLES, an instrumental beginning with the howling guitar work the listener will have become accustomed to on such a terrific album. The chugging guitar riff that follows is by far the heaviest work on the album, and with no vocals there is nothing to take the attention away from such powerful and uplifting music. If you like instrumentals I would strongly suggest checking this one out, as Beats Working obviously believe in the policy of saving the best until last.
‘Calm’ is an uplifting and awe inspiring album with a deceiving title that disguises its true nature. You’d be forgiven for thinking that this album would be a selection of chill out tunes, but instead it features intricate and tidy guitar work, effective rhythm and powerful melodies that really hit the album home. With the selection finishing on a brilliantly crafted and motivating instrumental, I see no reason why this album can’t be labelled ‘perfect’ – it’s genuinely flawless. Beats Working Website: http://www.beatsworking.tv/welcome.html |