Welcome to The Hard Place, a tight-trousered treasure trove of new melodic hard rock from all over the world. Here at RGM we’re pretty picky when it comes to our big hair and braying guitars so, as ever, our focus is on quality over quantity.

SHIRAZ LANE photograph: Tero Kotsaleinen

We start with Finnish hard rockers Shiraz Lane whose new EP, Vibrations I, finds the band really embracing their melodic side. Since releasing their sophomore LP ‘Carnival Days’ in 2018, the quintet have been touring hard, playing the Monsters Of Rock Cruise in the U.S. and, more recently, headlining their own European tour. Shiraz Lane’s lightly-glammed sound is far from innovative but has become slicker and tighter in contrast to their somewhat untidy 2016 debut, when a cover of a Savage Garden hit would surely have been out of the question. Yes, you did read correctly; one of the EP’s tracks is a pumped-up (and worryingly discotastic) version of the Australian duo’s ‘To The Moon & Back’. The EP’s finest moment, however, has to be lead single ‘Do You’ and, though the video should not be viewed by anyone who is currently running low on toilet paper, the song is pure melodic rock gold, with echoes of Bad City and H.E.A.T. The slickness continues with ‘You Will Remain’ and ‘Keep It Alive’, both showing an as yet unmined pop edge while still hitting all the hair metal sweet spots: guitar crunch: tick; effeminate looks: tick; gang vocals: tick. Guilty pleasures: all satisfied.

Shiraz Lane will hope to provide a much-needed cure for those of us suffering from the Coronavirus lockdown blues by streaming a full live show this week. Details:

SHIRAZ LANE

full live show

SemiLive @ Studio Storia

03.04.20 / 6pm UK time

streaming online

semilive.fi

tickets available here

Meanwhile over in Canada, Harem Scarem released their latest record on March 6th and, while it’s not the glimmering orb of perfection I believe them to be capable of, Change The World nonetheless boasts some stupidly awesome songs. The record’s opening and title track promises plenty but the record’s knockout blow comes in the form of lead single ‘Death Of Me’ which is possibly the best song the band has written since their 2013 reformation. On watching the video, I was pleased to see guitarist Pete Lesperance embracing his greyness, going for a decidedly Michael McDonald-in-his-prime look. Facetious fashion commentary aside, the record is piled high with an embarrassment of melodic rock jewels; (there is a good reason that many AOR fans hold Harem Scarem aloft as undisputed kings of the genre) check out ‘Aftershock’, ‘Mother of Invention’ and ‘In The Unknown’ if you don’t believe me.

Brazilian newcomers Electric Mob have just released a whopper of a single, ‘Devil You Know’, taken from their forthcoming debut album, Discharge, which is slated for a June release via Frontiers and follows the band’s 2017 EP Leave A Scar. The track has already topped various hard rock streaming charts, which comes as no surprise as it delivers serious heft and punch; the untamed Zeppelinesque riffing of guitarist Ben Hur Auwarter serving as the perfect partner to Renan Zonta’s vocal, which is a blistering blend of Layne Staley and Myles Kennedy (it’s little wonder that he was an instant hit with viewers of The Voice Brazil, clocking up millions of YouTube hits after appearing on the show). It’s a big ask but let’s hope the album lives up to the promise.

Back in the UK, AOR stalwarts FM are set to return with a brand new album, ‘Synchronized’, in May though for obvious reasons the band have had put a hold on their imminent tour of Europe and the UK. The band, who reformed in 2007 after a 12-year gap, continue to offer a hybrid of their 80s synth-driven sound and their bluesier 90s self - a balancing act that they pull off effortlessly. The album’s highlights include the singalong ‘Best of Times’ and ‘Broken’ through the glorious textbook AOR of ‘Change For The Better’ to the unashamed soul of ‘Angels Cried’. Dad-rock it may be, but it’s dad-rock of the highest order. Steve Overland’s vocal hasn’t changed a bit since 1986 and the band’s busy tour schedule has kept their sound tight and confident. FM’s renaissance is shaping up to be just as significant as their initial decade so if you’ve not kept up with them since the 1990s, this could be the perfect time for a rediscovery.

And it is there, dear reader, that we must offer you a farewell rock salute, until next time. We hope you found something in The Hard Place that got you reaching for a volume crank - and, as always, if there’s anything out there you think deserves a mention in here, do get in touch…

The Hard Place is a Rich Barnard production for Red Guitar Music.