SENCELLED - Sencelled (2011)

*

Capitalizing on the current AOR / Melodic Rock scene in Sweden, which produced last year's wonders Houston, Sencelled debuts with their self-titled album.
Sencelled plays melody driven rock / AOR in an updated style with hints of power rock & pop, blending some stunning harmonies with really cool hooks.
Think a mix of Stage Dolls, Rick Springfield and many earlier '90s Canadian bands such as Honeymoon Suite and Haywire.

First single "Breath Out" opens the album, a nice, catchy rocker with a fine AORish chorus and huge background vocals.
Follower "I Love The Way You Are" is an arena ready rockin' tune, while the Rick Springfield comparisons come to mind on next track "Wild One", filled with crunchy guitars and a sing-along chorus.
"Miracle" is a stunning melodic rocker with a killer hook, a song in the nineties Loverboy or Haywire style. It's one of the harder tracks on the album with some strong riffage.
"Oh Sarah" is a nice ballad that obviously was written for radio, with good vocals but the melody is a bit flat and not much impressive.
"Tommy & Gina", stealing the characters from Bon Jovi's Livin' On A Prayer, is not completely convincing lyrically. However, Sencelled redeems itself with a catchy chorus.
I don't like the overall approach of "Things I Feel", musically and sonic-wise.
"I Wanted You" is a very good hook laden modern AORish rocker with brilliant harmonies and cleverly keyboards in the background.
Last track "Carry On" is another good one, again sounding pretty Canadian, driven by tasty guitar riffs and a contagious melody.


"Sencelled" is a really good debut from these young Swedish melodic rockers, convincing and effective for the most part.
The band displays good musicianship and solid songwriting, with tons of hooks and melodies to enjoy. A couple of tracks have some modern rock stink, but that does not affect the final product.
They have some guests on the album such as Tommy Denander, Mats Olausson (Malmsteen, Houston), Kristoffer Lagerstrom (Spin Gallery) and Hank Erix (Houston). Ricky B Delin who produced Houston's debut album has done a first class work behind the desk and come up with a fine result.
Sencelled knows their Melodic Rock craft, and if you are a fan of this lovely genre, this CD will please you for sure.


01 - Breathe Out
02 - I Love the Way You Are
03 - Wild One
04 - Miracle
05 - Oh, Sarah
06 - One Night Stand
07 - I Wanted You
08 - Tommy & Gina
09 - Things I Feel
10 - Carry On


Erik Holmberg - Lead Vocals, Guitar
Fredrik Askenstrom - Guitars, Backing Vocals
Mattias Ohlsen - Bass, Backing Vocals
Christoffer Ahl - Drums





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