Station’s Established Audiences Will Have A Positive “Perspective” On The Band’s Latest Album

Courtesy: Station Music, LLC/AWAL

Candy is typically the most common treat that people give out on Halloween, but fans of the independent rock band Station got a special treat early this month in the form of the band’s new album, Perspective.  Release Oct. 8 through Station Music, LLC via AWAL, the 10-song record is certain to appeal to the band’s established audiences and to fans of the rock sounds of the 1980s alike.  That is due to the musical arrangements that make up the record’s body.  They will be examined shortly.  The lyrical themes that accompany the record’s musical content will appeal to even more audiences.  They will be discussed a little later.  The record’s sequencing rounds out its most important elements and will also be examined later.  Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of Perspective.  All things considered, they make this record a work that the band’s target audiences will agree is worth hearing at least once.

Neo-classic rock band Station’s latest album, Perspective, is a presentation that is certain to appeal to the band’s established audiences and those with an affinity for the 1980s.  That is proven in large part to the album’s featured musical arrangements.  The arrangements in question exhibit their own diversity while also presenting quite a bit of familiarity.  Case in point is the album’s opener and latest single, ‘I Can’t Find My Way.’  The song’s arrangement immediately lends itself to comparison to works from the J. Geils Band with the subtlest touch of Def Leppard.  Immediately after that, the band conjures thoughts of Van Halen circa 1988 (the year that the band released its album, OU812) in ‘See The Light.’  The comparison comes through the overall arrangement.  The song’s production immediately gives the song that same distinct sound.  Meanwhile, front man Patrick Kearney sounds so closely similar to former VH front man Sammy Hagar here.  Again that is thanks in part to the song’s production.  The sound of his vocals here are not fully identical, but certain the similarity is there.  The whole makes the song one of the most engaging and entertaining of the album’s songs.  As if that is not enough, the band even reaches back to Van Halen’s David Lee Roth era through its original song, ‘Don’t Keep Me Waiting.’  Again, the production and the band’s approach to crafting the song play into that comparison.  At the same time, audiences can also hear a not so subtle influence from Def Leppard here.  This is not the only time in the record in which the band exhibits that influence, either.  ‘Do You Really Want To Fall in Love,’ and ‘If You Want Love’ each exhibit Def Leppard’s influence, too.  As if all of this is not enough, the band offers audiences some heavier sounds of the 80s in this record, too, such as in the clearly Ratt-esque closer, ‘All Over Again’ and the Whitesnake-esque closer, ‘You Found Yesterday.’  Between everything noted here and the influences that are evident in the album’s other songs, the collective musical content leaves no doubt that it will appeal to Station’s fans and those of the rock sounds of the 80s.  They build a strong foundation for the record for those audiences.  They are just part of what will ensure the album’s appeal.  The album’s lyrical themes add their own touch to the record’s appeal.

The lyrical themes featured in Perspective are maybe not as diverse as the record’s musical arrangements.  They are however, still accessible.  As the titles of certain songs note, some of the songs center of romantic relationships.  The album’s opener, ‘I Can’t Find My Way’ meanwhile is about taking chances in life so as to reach one’s potential.  Guitarist Chris Lane discussed that theme during a recent interview, noting, “Not wanting to take the chances in life that allow you to follow your own path.  It really speaks to the spirit of the band with how we approached this record and what we wanted to accomplish.”  It gives audiences something a little bit different from the album’s love songs, adding to the ensured appeal.  On a similar note, ‘Believe’ is clearly about believing in one’s own self.  Kearney makes that clear as he sings, “that you shouldn’t need another in the end” in the song’s chorus as he notes that we only need ourselves for reassurance and self confidence.  He points out in the song’s second verse that troubled times will come, but then reminds listeners they can get through those times.  It is a them that is certain to resonate with not just the audiences noted here but with listeners in general with that accessibility.  The theme here is also one more example of what makes the album’s lyrical content stand out.  When the album’s musical and lyrical content is considered together, the whole makes for more than enough reason for the noted audiences to give this album a chance.  They are just a part of what makes the album worth hearing, too.  The record’s sequencing rounds out the most important of the album’s elements.

Perspective’s sequencing is important to note because it is this element that ensures the album moves fluidly from start to end.  Thanks to the time and thought that went into the album’s sequencing, the songs’ energies rise and fall solidly at all of the right points.  It opens on in upbeat fashion in ‘I Can’t Find My Way’ before picking up even more in ‘See The Light.’  From there, things pull back a little bit in ‘Do You Really Want To Fall in Love Again.’  The band doesn’t let the album pull back too much though, as the record picks back up again in the noted Van Halen/DLR-era style song, ‘Don’t Keep Me Waiting.’  The steady mid-tempo work, with its blues rock approach is a distinct change of pace from its predecessor.  ‘Tonight,’ the album’s midpoint, pulls things back again with its clearly contemplative sound and stylistic approach.  From that point on to the album’s end, the songs’ energies continue to rise and fall at all of the right points, too.  The result is that the record’s sequencing keeps the album moving solidly from one song to the next while also keeping the songs’ sounds and styles changing along with their lyrical themes.  The end result is that the sequencing proves just as successful here as the record’s overall content.  All things considered, the album proves a work that, again, any fans of the rock sounds of the 80s will enjoy just as much as those with any affinity for the 80s in general.  To that end, it proves a work that those audiences will agree is a success.

Station’s fourth album, Perspective, is a work on which the band’s audiences will have a positive point of view.  That also applies to those who are still living in that era.  This is proven in large part through the album’s featured musical arrangements.  The arrangements show clear influences from some of the biggest musical acts of the age, from the J. Geils Band, to Def Leppard, to Van Halen, Dokken and even Ratt and others.  The lyrical themes featured in the band’s new album prove just as accessible as the record’s musical arrangements.  They are also diverse in their own right.  The content’s sequencing takes all of that into full account along with the songs’ energies in assembling the songs.  Each item noted is important in its own way to the whole of the album’s presentation.  All things considered, they make the album on which the band’s audiences will have a positive perspective.

Perspective is available now through Station Music, LLC through AWAL.  More information on the album is available along with all of Station’s latest news at:

Website: https://www.stationband.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/stationnyc

Twitter: https://twitter.com/stationnyc

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The Treatment’s Debut LP Keeps Pace Solidly With Rock’s Big Dogs

Courtesy: Spinefarm Records

The 1980s is one of the most important decades in the history of the music industry.  Disco evolved into New Wave during that decade.  Rap and Hip-Hop started burgeoning during those years, too.  And in the world of rock, audiences were presented with both the New Wave of Heavy Metal (NWOHM), and the rise and fall of the hair metal movement.  While the age of big hair and big rock came and went seemingly in the blink of an eye, it also produced some of the biggest names in the history of rock and metal.  Def Leppard, Poison, Motley Crue, Dokken and others of that ilk dominated radio stations and arenas across the country in that ten-year span.  Motley Crue is officially calling it a career.  The others called it a career years ago.  And while they may be gone, many bands since have shown that they are hardly forgotten, producing record after record that pays homage to said forebears.  Now another act has added its name to that long list of bands keeping the age of big guitar riffs and equally big hair alive in the form of The Treatment.  The five piece from Cambridge, England released its full length deut record Running With The Dogs on indie label Spinefarm Records back in February of this year.  It is a fittingly titled record, too.  That’s because the band, whose members are each in no more than their late teens, stays right with the rest of the pack on its debut.  The band keeps up with other bands of its genre (E.g. Buckcherry, Airbourne) in its debut.  That’s thanks both to its full-throttle, no nonsense rock and roll sound, and its equally old school lyrics.  The combination of the two makes this record a must hear for anyone that  wants a break from the seemingly constant barrage of cookie monster growls and poppy rock songs dominating so much of the rock world today.  Right off the top, front man Matt Jones and his band mates–Dee Dammers (guitar), Tagore Grey (Guitar), Dhani Mansworth (drums), and Rick “Swoggle” Newman (bass)–show that they mean business in the album’s opener ‘I Bleed Rock N’ Roll.’  This song is classic rock and roll all the way around and will have audiences instantly rocking and singing along.  By and large, the band keeps things moving throughout the record, slowing only once in the album’s penultimate acoustic opus ‘Unchain My World.’  Even being an acoustic piece, it harkens back to the acoustic ballads of Poison and other big hair bands from the 80s.  And what rock record is complete without an up-tempo piece about a female figure that all the guys want?  It’s there, too in the form of ‘She’s Too Much.’    These three songs are each enjoyable in their own right for anyone nostalgic for real  rock and roll.  Along with the other ten songs that make up this album, the whole thing proves to be a record that any old school rock and roll fan will enjoy.

The Treatment’s debut album Running With The Dogs is an aptly titled collection of songs.  The band’s members show exactly why right off the top in the album’s high-energy opener ‘I Bleed Rock and Roll.’  Musically speaking, this song instantly shows influences from veteran rock acts the likes of AC/DC and Motley Crue.  Drummer Dhani Mansworth’s solid 4/4 time set against the dual guitar attack of Dee Dammers and Tagore Grey instantly gets the body and the blood moving.  The duo’s old school shredding and harmonies will transport audiences back to rock’s era of big riffs and even bigger hair.  Front man Matt Jones’ vocal styling adds to that musical trip back in time even more.  It’s incredible how much Jones’ vocal style soudns so much like Motley Crue front man Vince Neil.  Lyrically, the song is just as much of an homage to rock’s “biggest” era with the band singing in the song’s chorus, “I live rock and roll/It’s my destiny/All I bleed is rock and roll.  the message is clear and simple not just here but in the song’s verses, too.  That simplicity and clarity of the song’s lyrics couple with its musical side to make this song the perfect opener for the band.  To another extent, that it finishes in such bombastic fashion makes it an equally fitting closer both on the album and in a live setting.  It’s just one of so many of the album’s opuses that shows what makes it a pure rock record well worth the listen.

It goes without saying that The Treatment chose the right song in ‘I Bleed Rock and Roll’ to open its debut full-length record.  Interestingly enough, that same song would work just as much as a closer for the band as the album’s closer and even as a show closer in a live setting.  The energy exuded by the band in this song is carried throughout every one of the songs that follow it right up to the album’s penultimate piece ‘Unchain My World.’  This acoustic ballad is just as much a throwback to the 80s as the album’s opener and any other song on this record.  Stylistically, listeners will instantly be able to make comparisons between this song and the ballads churned out by veteran rock bands such as Motley Crue, Poison, and even Mr. Big just to name a few.  This applies to the song both musically and lyrically.  The comparison to Mr. Big comes especially in the song’s chorus as the band sings “Unchain my world/Cause you’re all I’ve really got.”  Musically, one could even mistake the song for one of Mr. Big’s biggest hits of all time if one were listening to this song not knowing it was said band.  The song’s verses highlight that comparison, too with Jones singing how much a certain love interest has changed the subject’s life.  He sings of said subject’s view of the love interest, “I’m still fascinated/How deep inside I feel so incomplete/Indiscreet.”  Just as with the album’s opener, that mix of music and lyrics is just as certain to take audiences back to what is perhaps one of rock’s most underrated eras.

‘I Bleed Rock and Roll’ and ‘Unchain My World’ are both prime examples of the old school 80s influence presented on The Treatment’s debut full-length album.  Any old school rock and roll aficionado will appreciate thanks to that direct influence.  They aren’t the only good examples of that influence and enjoyment on this record, either.  The blues-based rocker that is ‘She’s Too Much’ is another great example of that influence and enjoyment.  It’s not as up-tempo as some of the album’s other songs.  But it leaves no one guessing in regards to its lyrical content.  It is presented very much in the vein of AC/DC’s ‘Whole Lotta Rosie.’  Jones sings over the bluesy riffs of his band mates, “She’s too much/Everything is not enough/She’s too much/Better load your gun boys/Take aim/Now fire.”  The song is thankfully not a direct mirror image of ‘Whole Lotta Rosie.’  But the blues-based rock sound churned out by Dammers and Grey definitely makes the comparison easy and not in a bad way, either.  Again in a time when so much of the rock and even hard rock world is dominated by cookie monster growls and crunching, down-tuned guitars, such a comparison is especially welcome considering that The Treatment has taken an influence as respected as AC/DC and crafted its own equally fun rock song.  It’s just one more of the thirteen total songs on this record that classic rock buffs will enjoy.

The songs noted here are each good examples of just what makes The Treatment’s debut album Running WithThe Dogs one more album released this year proving that contrary to Gene Simmons’ own views, rock and roll is not dead.  Nor is it even in the hospital so to speak.  It proves that rock and roll is alive and well.  It takes audiences back to an era when rock and roll was indeed rock and roll; an era when rock and roll was truly fun.  European audiences will agree with that sentiment when they see the band live on its current European tour.  Audiences will get to hear the band live when it rolls into Rotterdam, Netherlands next Thursday, November 27th, Paris, France next Friday, and Brussels, Belgium next Saturday, November 29th.  Audiences can pick up the band’s CD at those shows and each show after.  Whether in Europe or in the United States, audiences can pick up Running With The Dogs in stores or online now.  Fans can keep up with the band’s current tour schedule and all of its latest updates online now at:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheTreatmentOfficial

Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheTreatmentUK

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