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ARTIST: Serpentine
ALBUM: A Touch Of Heaven
LABEL: AOR Heaven
SERIAL: AORH99A
YEAR: 2010
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: 
LINEUP: Tony Mills - vocals * Christopher Gould - guitars * John Clews - guitars * Gareth David Noon - keyboards * Gareth Van Stone - bass * Roy Millward - drums
TRACK LISTING: 01 A Touch Of Heaven * 02 Whatever Heartache * 03 Lonely Nights * 04 For The Love Of It All * 05 Let Love Rain Down * 06 In My Blood * 07 Fashion * 08 We Belong * 09 Love Suicide * 10 Unbreak My Heart
RATING: 
WEBLINKS: www.myspace.com/planetserpentine |
BackgroundA new band out of the UK Midlands has appeared in 2010. They are Serpentine, a young band, with a cool name, cool album cover, and a musical style that reminds me of some of the 90's output from British bands such as
Passion Street,
Burn (UK) and
Shy (understandably). This lot are rather ambitious, having gone long distance to utilise the services of one Greg Flores, the lead singer from Chicago based melodic rockers
Kamera. When that arrangement didn't work out, the boys bought in the UK's answer to
Jeff Scott Soto - Tony Mills to handle the vocal duties, plus an extra guitarist and drummer. The resulting album has been a little while in the making, and with AOR Heaven jumping in with a deal, 'A Touch Of Heaven' is now out in the market. Listening to it, it's a good album with Mills singing in a manageable register, like he did on some parts of
Shy's 'Sunset And Vine'. The focal points of the band are keyboardist Gareth David Noon, guitarist Christopher Gould and bass player Gareth Van Stone, who had demoed material as far back as 2007. Producer Mark Stuart who has previously worked with
Magnum operates the dials here, and gives the band a lush backdrop. That's great for a new band to be afforded such luxury in the studio, but becomes unrealistic and hard when they get to play live.
The SongsThere are some nice songs here, the opening quartet all deliver moments guaranteed to get the insulin levels rising among the diehard AOR diabetics among you. The title track 'A Touch Of Heaven' opens the account, and at a touch over six minutes is the longest track on the album. 'Whatever Heartache' for me is the pick of the album, with lovely keyboard touches all over, a relatively smooth effort too. Very nice. 'Lonely Nights' sounds like a
Shy song from their back catalog, while 'For The Love Of It All' has some good ideas with the piano being the lead instrument. Some hardened riffs introduce 'Let Love Rain Down' but the whole thing is smothered in a rich blanket, it's like digesting on a box of white chocolate delicacies. 'Fashion' is another good effort, some lovely synths here, but by now I'm wondering why the rhythm guitar work sounds so weak and pushed down in the mix? I liked 'We Belong', which surges along as a quality AOR track, upbeat and energetic, topped by a great chorus. 'Love Suicide' is a reasonable effort, but the lead guitar/solo seemed to be chasing its tail and sounds completely uninspired. The finale 'Unbreak My Heart' is a symphonic ballad with a sweeping demeanour, a good way to finish up.
In SummaryAs mentioned, this is a nice album, but a little bit too safe and inoffensive. As Gerry McGhee of
Brighton Rock once said, it's like music being played with a condom on. I was hoping for more, particularly the guitar work because it didn't really stand out. Mostly the rhythm work needed more beef, and the solos were pretty boring really. Great keyboards, so well done to Mr Noon. Not sure what Mr Mills has in mind with Serpentine. He's already got a busy year ahead. Surely he's not overcommitting himself? Being unique and inventive is one way to stand out in this field, certainly Serpentine have the talent and songwriting skill, but it would be better to hear them roughened up a bit and playing in a rawer context. Surely they won't be playing this safe in a live situation? I sincerely hope not.
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