Charlie
No Second Chance

A record really discovered by chance (like almost all those I review), thanks to a cover book where if the image that appears before me piques my curiosity, I go listen to it on Spotify, and if sometimes I encounter duds, other times I find small masterpieces from unknown bands. If the last time the masterpiece was "Looking On" by the Move, today the miracle repeats itself (although not to the levels of the aforementioned record).

The album opens with "Johnny Hold Back," characterized by a jolting guitar chord that continues throughout the song, with good vocal parts. A pleasant song.

It follows up with "Turning To You," a sweeter song than the previous one that might come across as somewhat mawkish both textually and musically, but still good.

It continues with "Don't Look Back," a slow but pleasant ballad that might vaguely remind you of Pink Floyd. Good opening riff.

The album goes on with "Pressure point," a song introduced with an acoustic guitar that accompanies it until the end, with good backing vocals and a very cheerful rhythm.

Now a little jewel of the record: "Thirteen," sad and dramatic in its tones with a continuous riff obsessively repeated. To be listened to in the rain while wandering aimlessly through the city just after sunset.

The following "No Second Chance" seems to respond to the previous one: if before the city lights seemed sad to you, now they fascinate you and push you to drown the sadness (you know the reason) in fun (the so-called 'sadness' can be traced back to the sweet chorus).

"Lovers," on the other hand, if it cheers you up for most of the piece, now brings back that melancholy with the final instrumental part: to say the least, compelling.

"Love Is Alright" seems a lot like filler (perhaps due to the uninspired title), but still pleasant and worth listening to.

To conclude beautifully, the "Stairway To Heaven" of the album: "Guitar Hero (False Messiah), a nearly eight-minute live-recorded piece that releases almost all the content of the album, namely good riffs, inspired choruses, excellent theme changes that close the album leaving you wanting to listen to it again just to return to this gem.

An album to listen to from a sadly forgotten band, full of good ideas (even if the lyrics are a bit too mawkish, but that's my personal opinion).