This is album number seven from Canada’s best kept secret, Harem Scarem. They have released 13 studio albums as themselves, two albums under the name of Rubber, plus numerous live and compilation albums – and there are still rock fans who don’t know who they are! Their first two albums are melodic rock classics that everyone should own.
This album first saw the light of day in 2002, and this is a 2019 Frontiers reissue. The title track kicks things off – the first thing that grabs you are the harmonies and the hook. Killing Me out does its predecessor as the vocals and harmonies are just superb. Outside Your Window has a very different groove – I love the guitar on this one. All I Want Is Everything has another killer solo from Pete Lesperance – who has to be one of the most underrated guitarists out there. He always plays what the song needs in such a beautiful way. They are kings at writing the syrupy ballad, and This Ain’t Over is definitely one of them. There is a short instrumental piece that closes out Side 1. It sort of frustrates me a bit as they could have done so much more with it.
The overall vibe of this album is somewhat poppy, and they were criticized for this at the time – hence the Rubber side project. You Ruined Everything feels like a tribute to Cheap Trick who are the kings of power pop. Charmed Life has a super cool groove and riff in the verse, and the chorus is super catchy – it’s my favourite on the album. More power pop vibes with If You, and I can see why they made the two Rubber albums – they seemed to have tapped into something. See Saw is a really interesting instrumental that shows what a great player Pete is. This is no shred fest though – its pure melody – even when the pace picks up. Voice Inside has a great uptempo beat and groove, and the key changes and middle eight are killer. The album closes out with End Of Time and it’s ballad city – they do them so well though that it’s hard not to get drawn in.
8/10 from The Grooveman.
