HOUSTON - Houston (2010)

The Swedish duo of Hampus "Hank" Erix (vocals) and Freddie Allen (Drums) make up the sensation called HOUSTON some months ago when they released their debut single "Hold On" to the world.
Finally we have here the full album.

Houston's passion for the music come together and along side an inventive producer in Ricky B. Delin who brings a great crew together with the likes of Tommy Denander, Tomas Vikström (Talk Of The Town, Candlemass) and Mats Olausson (Yngwie Malmsteen) to add more power to their already catchy sound.

The single “Hold On” was a nice advance, with soaring guitars, soft keyboards and the sweet vocals, but are tracks like “I’m Alive” that make the record flow with energy and provides the listener with the classic chords of vintage AOR.
The keys in “Give Me Back My Heart” are soulfully played with the heartfelt drums marching on in this arena style rocker.
The chorus in “She’s A Mistery” is definitely not hard to figure out as everything comes together on this track to unite more high rising harmonies.
The name sake for Houston fits perfectly on these songs here as Denander provies a futuristic keyboard presence on some of the songs, which fit perfectly with the classic AOR vibe throughout the record.

Well much hard work it took for the guys to complete the record and it shows in the production and the performance.
I think as time passes on we will go back and refer to this release as a top notch... perhaps classic?
You never know, all I know is that the music here is delivered to perfection with all the catchy hooks and enticing melodies we come to expect from veterans in the genre.

One of the strongest releases of the year without a doubt.
Knock this one back into you CD player because you’ll end up listening to it endless times.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED


01 - Pride
02 - Truth Slips
03 - Hold On
04 - I'm Alive
05 - One Chance
06 - Give Me Back My Heart
07 - Misery
08 - She's A Mystery
09 - Now
10 - 1000 Songs



Hampus "Hank" Erix - Lead Vocals
Freddie Allen - Drums

Tommy Denander - Keyboards, Guitar
Mats Olausson - Keyboards
Thomas Vikström - Vocals
... and many more session musicians