Stoneflower – Finally
Label: AOR Heaven
Release date:May 15, 2020
Website: www.aorheaven.com
Even tho the name STONEFLOWER might be associated with some kind of alternative sounding band, au contraire, mon fraire, the Norwegians deliver pure AOR with some Westcoast overtones, not unlike 80s TOTO or contemporary Swedish combo WORK OF ART. The outfit, gathered around guitarist Tom Sennerud, hasn’t yet reached the class of the aforementioned, but songs like the opening track „Gonna Let You Go“ hint at a bright future for the northmen. Of course, no AOR album these days that indeed doesn’t include any guestplayers: On „Finally“, Tommy Denander bends the sixstrings together with DA VINCI mainman Gunnar Westlie. Thank God, the band’s own musos ain’t half bad either, especially singer John Masaki is quite a discovery. There are a couple of average songs included, unfortunately, too, like the pretty cheesy paint-by-numbers ballad „Kaylee“, but the CD takes up the pace again with awesome songs like „Shivering Hands“ or „Believing“. As fans always have to wait a wee bit longer for the next TOTO album, why not shorten the time and give STONEFLOWER a well-deserved chance?
8,5/10
Kai Brockschmidt
Tracklist:
1. Gonna Let You Go
2. What Can Be Done
3. Believing
4. Calling All Stations
5. Kaylee
6. The Devil Never Cries
7. Shivering Hands
8. Finally
9. Through The Fire
10. How Does It Feel
11. Fall
