Carmen Gray - Gates of Loneliness

These Finnish rockers entered the scene in 2006 with “The Portrait of Carmen Gray”… which was a well-received album…as well as the sophomore one, “Welcome to Grayland”. The third work which is entitled “Gates of Loneliness” was released in 2011 but it’s now being officially distributed worldwide. After some major airplay on the Finnish radio the band also made it to the Finnish single charts. The title track spent 13 weeks on top10 of the Finnish National Air Play Chart. Although the two first albums of the band were released by Sony in Finland… and the guys did have the support of a big label… weirdly enough the new one is being released independently. Surely, this cost them in terms of advertising and exposure but they probably already have a strong fan base till now.

 

Carmen Gray manages to blend various music styles in their music (from the 70s, the 80s and the 90s) such as: classic rock, AOR, pop-rock, melodic rock, hard rock, garage rock & rock & roll. They’re focusing on catchy hooks, melodic music and simple song arrangements generally but that’s not necessarily bad. Most of the songs have strong refrains and nice lyrics. The album, indeed, has some very enjoyable tunes like: “Gates Of Loneliness”, “Roses”, “It’s Only Love”, “Love Story Town”, “Heroes and Losers”, “Real Punks (Plastic Smiles)” & “Not Surprized” (a superb emotional ballad). Nicklas has a very expressive & warm voice… impossible not to adore it. Likewise, the production is very smooth and clear… first-rate in any way.

 

This album is more laid back comparing it to the previous two… but that won’t mind those who like the first two releases at all. It’s radio friendly melodic pop-rock music with several amusing moments. Do not afraid to taste it… if you like your rock music more tuneful, sweet and easy-going… for you’ll have some nice time when listening to it…