De La Cruz
Street Level
Frontiers Records
2013
De La Cruz is a newcomer from down under and this is their first full-length work after they signed in Frontiers records. The young members of the band are fond of the 80s hair metal, hard rock, sleaze metal days when bands like Bon Jovi, Motley Crue, Poison, Def Leppard, Danger Danger, Steelheart, Ratt, Firehouse, Warrant and so on ruled the airwaves. Ohh, what a time!! Unfortunately, it ain’t coming back no matter how badly some guys like me want it to happen.
Anyway, De La Cruz wish they were part of the 80s scene and that’s obvious if you take a look at the band and listen to this album. “Street Level” has all the clichés that a “retro” 80s hair metal, hard rock, sleaze/glam metal album could have. The song titles, the performances, the vocals, the melodies. Ohh Lord, it’s like a dejavu! Sweet dejavu but fatefully we’ have heard it all – way better – before. I think the same goes for De La Cruz… they have also heard all of this before and have enjoyed it eventually. The production is fine & rockin’ but not great.
The band is OK, the album is listenable but I can’t place them on the first league. “Dreaming” is the finest moment here but then again one song can’t bring the whole album out of its musical average-ness. The songwriting is rather generic & run-of-the-mill so I can’t help but wish they learn out of this and come back with something stronger in the future…
Anyway, De La Cruz wish they were part of the 80s scene and that’s obvious if you take a look at the band and listen to this album. “Street Level” has all the clichés that a “retro” 80s hair metal, hard rock, sleaze/glam metal album could have. The song titles, the performances, the vocals, the melodies. Ohh Lord, it’s like a dejavu! Sweet dejavu but fatefully we’ have heard it all – way better – before. I think the same goes for De La Cruz… they have also heard all of this before and have enjoyed it eventually. The production is fine & rockin’ but not great.
The band is OK, the album is listenable but I can’t place them on the first league. “Dreaming” is the finest moment here but then again one song can’t bring the whole album out of its musical average-ness. The songwriting is rather generic & run-of-the-mill so I can’t help but wish they learn out of this and come back with something stronger in the future…