Album Review: Arctic Rain - The One

                                   

I've said repeatedly that I don't quite understand the obsession with the 80s. Both politically and musically, it was a time that doesn't have a whole lot I think carries over to today. When it comes to rock, we're talking about the days of hair metal. Do we really have that many people clamoring for the return of that sound? Does anyone still believe Poison was a good band? Someone must, because Arctic Rain is yet another young band made up of people who probably weren't alive when that style of music was actually popular, yet that's what they have chosen to make for themselves. Even though I was born in the 80s, I would rather not go back to that time.

Still, I can look at the music in a mostly objective way, despite it not being my preferred sound to listen to right now. Arctic Rain are going for the straight-up 80s stadium rock sound, and not the softer style The Night Flight Orchestra has made popular once again. They are trying to write another "Livin' On A Prayer", not another Hall & Oates classic. At least they have that going for them.

The reason I struggle with 80s revivalism is that we're talking about a time when rock was popular, but hadn't yet invited in pop melodies. 80s rock was about gang chants and simple refrains, which I find wear thin the more you hear them, even when they're written well. Arctic Rain, whether intentionally or not, avoids that style of writing across much of this record. Their songs have that sound, but the hooks are sturdier than the layers of vocals holding them up. A song like "Lost" would have absolutely been a radio staple in 1984. We've been hearing "Round & Round" on tv in those Geico commercials lately, and the shortcomings of 80s rock are made clear even in those fifteen or thirty seconds.

By the time we're halfway through the album, I'm not fully bought-in to the nostalgia show, but I have put aside my feelings and can fully enjoy what Arctic Rain is giving us. The songs are delivering energy and fun better than most of the 80s revivalists, and even a skeptic will come around to this record having charm to it. They actually show that Steel Panther could have a real career if they weren't intent on demeaning women at every turn for the sake of 'humor', because well written rock of this style does jump out when compared to the dour stuff that populates the mainstream right now.

Traditionalists will love what Arctic Rain is doing on this album, and even those of us who look at it with a sideways glance will eventually admit our skepticism wasn't needed this time. "The One" is a lot of fun, and makes a stronger case for the 1980s than most of the bands from that era who are still out there on the scene. I've had the misfortune of hearing the recent RATT, Quiet Riot, and LA Guns albums, and Arctic Rain puts all of them to shame.