ISSA

ANOTHER WORLD

REVIEWER – GRAEME WRIGHT

ISSA is totally new to me but this is actually her eighth album on the Frontiers label. I’ve listened to her back catalogue this week and the high point of the artists output was the previous record ‘Lights Of Japan’ (which saw a notable change of musical style) which is a superb record no matter what scale of Rock music you are weighted towards. It was a glorious blend of eighties AOR with a modern engineering twist and a collection of uniformly strong songs that were effortlessly performed by musicians of the highest quality. For me though, the new record ‘Another World’ has raised the bar even higher. The whole album is a fabulous throwback to the eighties with more than a hint of prime Heart about the proceedings with a few heavier songs thrown in to the mix for good measure.

This album took me back to teased hair days with glorious vocals and eleven absolutely killer songs which haven’t left my music system this week. If your looking for melody combined with huge cuts and an array of high quality guest musicians you’ve come to the right place. From opening track ’Armed And Dangerous’ to the album closer ‘Lost And Lonely’ there isn’t a duff track on display here. ‘Armed And Dangerous’ is a high voltage classic rock tune with a huge hook and chorus, while ‘All These Wild Nights’ is a superbly sung heartfelt piece of work that I loved to bits. ‘Only In The Dark’ has some amazing sax work that takes me back to the film ‘The Lost Boys’, which seems to have influenced so many modern artists. The song itself is a dreamy ballad and is quickly followed by ‘Never Sleep Alone’, which picks up the pace with more than a touch of classic Dokken about it with its harmonious backing vocal and ominous sounding guitar work. ‘The Road To Victory’ is the kind of song that John Hughes would have used in one of his eighties tinged nostalgia movies while the title track ‘Another World’ pounds along with its unique peppy and preppy style and had me on board right from the off. ‘Kick Of Fire’ is my favourite track on the entire album and is an absolute banger with the biggest chorus on the record and contains some exquisite synth pop support which is just the icing on the cake. Excellent stuff. ‘Got A Hold On Me’ is a solid pop/rock dance floor filler and this is followed by ‘A Second Life’ which would have induced mass lighter waving by an arena crowd back in the day. ‘The Hardest Fight’ rocks things up a bit and sees ISSA belting out another huge chorus and proving that she has a fair set of pipes about her at the same time. ‘Lost And Lonely’ closes things out and it’s another excellent tune with both power and melody to die for.

Honestly, if you hanker for that classic AOR sound from the eighties but aren’t afraid to mix it up with some solid Heavy Rock tracks this album is for you and it shows that Isabell Oversveen is one of the most talented front women out there at the moment. Simply put, this a must purchase album and I for one hope she gets out on the road soon.

BAND

Issa – Vocals

James Martin – Synths and BVs

Tom Martin – Guitars and Bass and BVs

Leon Robert Winteringham – Guitars and BVs

ALBUM TRACK LIST

1. Armed And Dangerous

2. All These Wild Nights

3. Only In The Dark

4. Never Sleep Alone

5. The Road To Victory

6. Another World

7. Kick Of Fire

8. Got A Hold On Me

9. A Second Life

10. The Hardest Fight

11. Lost & Lonely