Roxette
Charm School

The Roxette have seen it all. A lukewarm debut in their homeland (Pearls Of Passion), then the international breakthrough with The Look; two innocent "wild ones," perhaps not outstanding, yet with a charm and an appeal not entirely dismissible, were ready to invade the flashy and eccentric late Eighties rock-pop/rock scene.

It seemed that Per Gessle and Marie Friedriksson were destined for everlasting success: their subsequent hits It Must Have Been Love and Joyride (along with their respective albums) were achieving great success on the charts, and their first world tour (Join The Joyride) fully confirmed their rising popularity. Soon, however, the fickle wheel of fortune began to slow down: in addition to the declining sales trend (with Crash! Boom! Bang! and following), there was the artistic decline of the duo, which in their latest works was blatantly leaning towards dance-pop (Room Service).

The most imposing challenge to bear turned out to be, nonetheless, Marie's brain tumor, which caused the singer significant damage to her cerebral and sensory systems. Despite many uncertainties and some timid announcements, the Roxette project, which had been popular since 1986, began to resume in recent years with the release of new compilations and participation in various European festivals: it was in this context that Charm School, a new studio album by the famous Swedes, was conceived.

The album represents the most genuine return to the Roxette rock of their golden era: completely disavowing the discotheque tackiness of Room Service, Per and Marie, former motorcycle "maniacs", re-embrace the sounds that had forged the Roxette brand, the sounds of Joyride, Sleeping In My Car, The Look, and Dangerous. A turn towards electric guitars and drums, darker and more lyrical than usual, often melancholic and nostalgic, encompassing both straight-up "rocking" tracks and ballads, a dialectical scheme resumed, albeit not symmetrically as before, by the duo. Far from being weak, flat, and monotonous, Charm School intends to restore to Gessle and Friedriksson the vigor and energy they exuded long ago, even through open, warm, and sincere vocal tones.

She's Got Nothing On (But The Radio), the first single, alternates a pounding syncopated rock sound with pervasive electronic bursts, Way Out and Dream On dive into timeless prairie country, while the quirky and very funky After All showcases the album's folk, lighthearted, and carefree side, interspersed with the alternative-electronic influences of the Muse in Big Black Cadillac.

Ballads predominate: In My Own Way, especially Speak To Me evoke the melancholic and romantic lyricism of Listen To Your Heart, Spending My Time, and Fading Like A Flower (Every Time You Leave), albeit darker; entirely devoid of percussion, I'm Glad You Called slips into the theatrical drama of strings, piano, and, especially, a quiet and serene country guitar.

The last tracks notably depart from the traditional rock-ballad contrast, shifting towards more alternative and "experimental" sounds: if one can perceive influences from the Coldplay in the calm Happy On The Outside, the eclectic ambient-new wave electronic mix of Sitting On The Top Of The World worthily closes a rather solid and cohesive work, a concrete demonstration of a band that, on the brink of collapse and semi-retirement, managed to gradually rise again, bringing back the roar, even if not as in the past, of the Harleys from Joyride.

Roxette, Charm School

Way Out - No One Makes It On Her Own - She's Got Nothing On (But The Radio) - Speak To Me - I'm Glad You Called - Only When I Dream - Dream On - Big Black Cadillac - In My Own Way - After All - Happy On The Outside - Sitting On The Top Of The World.