AIRRACE - "UNTOLD STORIES"

RATING: RRRR

LABEL: FRONTIERS

REVIEW BY: ALAN HOLLOWAY


For a band that released a debut in 1984 the disappeared from the face of the Earth, Airrace are doing a good job of refusing to bugger off. Resurfacing in 2011 with a very decent comeback album, it's fantastic that they're still going at it with this, their third release in 35 odd years. The reason it's fantastic is that if they'd been content to just release one comeback album we'd have been denied this little beauty, so welcome back (again) Airrace.

Although opener 'Running Out of Time' starts with a slow piano intro, it's clear as soon as it actually gets going that the listener is in for a treat. There's a big Bad Company vibe going on, and I mean the 'Fame & Fortune' era here, with a big, bouncy refrain getting straight into your brain. Follow up 'Innocent' ups the pace a bit, throwing in a Mama's Boys (AOR incarnation), whilst 'Eyes Like Ice' nestles comfortably between the two. It's odd, but I get a strong feeling that I'm listening to an album that was buried by a record company in 1991 and has been resurrected and given a good polish. It doesn't feel like a new album, but it does feel like an overlooked classic. Vocalist Adam Payne absolutely nails it throughout, and the band behind him don't put a foot wrong, either. Every song aside from the ballad 'Lost' is horrendously catchy, and whenever I finish listening I tend to just stick it back on again for the hell of it.

Reviewers will tell you that it takes a special album to make their private playlist, as there's a lot of competition. 'Untold Stories' makes it with ease, as it's right up my street in every way. The only reason it doesn't get full marks is that I personally found the 'Lost' rather boring. Aside from that, if you enjoy AOR that is unpretentious and, above all, fun, then this is the album for you. get it, enjoy it, repeat.

Official Facebook Page