Jace PAWLAK: "Promise"

Rating: RRRRr

Label: Kivel Records

Review By: Alan Holloway


If you haven’t heard of Jason “Jace” Pawlak, then you can join the club, as until last week I hadn’t a clue either. Through the miracle of face book, however, a musician friend shared the lead track from this, his fourth solo album, and suddenly I was very aware of Jace Pawlack, because “Tonight Is Everything” pushed all of the buttons in my head reserved for only the highest quality AOR.

As both singer and songwriter, what Jace Pawlak has done here is produce a quintessential melodic rock album that could easily be used a a template for new bands wanting to get it right, a sort of “AOR For Dummies” if you will. Don’t get me wrong - this is not any sort of insult. Hey - those Dummies books are freakin’ awesome, and so is “Promise”. It’s a straight up melodic rock instant classic, adhering to the rules and regulations set down in fluffy pink stone back in the early eighties. Ten tracks? Check. Ballad at positions 3 and 7? Check. Songs about love, love and more love? Check. Hugely infectious choruses? Neat guitar solos? Good, high vocals? Check, check and check! You get the idea…

“Promise” is an album that’s stuffed to the gills with catchy tracks, each one benefiting from a crisp production. The more upbeat tracks, such as the aforementioned “Tonight Is Everything” (which there is a link for on our facebook feed) “late On Loving You” and “Too Late” are instant monsters, ready to take up residence in your subconscious. Then you have the more mid paced tracks, none of which are any less catchy, and a couple of ballads to complete the experience, with the whole package topped off the closing track “Nothing But Rain”, a song that is best described as a hard edged ballad with balls, and just has something about it that makes it stand out as a quality song amongst quality songs.

So there you have it. If you have never heard of Jace Pawlak this is the time to rectify the situation with an album full of AOR gems. The only track that leaves me a bit ‘meh’ is the ballad “Every Now & Then”, but that’s just me. This is one of those albums that you play over and over again, simply because you just want to hear the songs one more time. Buy or die…


Official Website