Review: Chantel McGregor – Lose Control

Tis Rock Music (2015)

Reviewer: Dan Mann

After the 2011 critically acclaimed ‘Like No Other’, Chantel McGregor is about to release her second outing in the shape and form of ‘Lose Control’.

As someone who’s a big fan of that first release and of her live performances, I’ve really been looking forward to this new release, and from the off it’s pretty apparent that this is indeed going to be something a bit special.

Opening with ‘Take The Power‘, straight away your grabbed by a strong, controlled rock track with Chantel’s vocals having to my ears elements of Nancy Wilson and Kate Bush. With a distorted guitar sound in part and a strong in fill of bass and percussion, a great way to start off.

Next is ‘Your Fever‘ with almost gothic overtones to the vocals, the chorus grabbing your attention, this again is an indication that Chantel has gone out and recorded exactly what she wanted rather than what the ‘industry’ wants. ‘Burn Your Anger‘ is full of the angst you’d expect from the track title with some real energy burning through those guitar strings.

The next track on the album I must confess is one of the stand out tracks for me. From the opening acoustic guitar and Chantel’s almost haunting singing, ‘Anaesthetise‘ draws you in. It’s one of those tracks that just makes the World stop for a short while as your drawn into something quite mesmerizing.

From the opening bars of ‘Southern Bell‘ you know this will be a bit of a foot stomper of a blues rock track. Chantel’s voice taking on a bourbon rich edge with a very catchy chorus and some good old southern guitar licks to accompany it. Now for the title track ‘Lose Control‘. To me there are elements of Nancy Wilson and Heart in this song, which ticks plenty of boxes when it comes to my musical tastes. ‘Here‘ is another track that takes you in, enthralls you, reminds me very much of Eva Cassidy and is delightful.

We uptempo for ‘Killing Time‘ which has a great riff to it and with the skillful percussion of Keith McPartling keeping everything on an even keel. There is a haunting quality to Chantel’s vocals on ‘Eternal Dream‘ a track stripped back and laid bare with a beautiful sound to the guitar work. It’s another track that just draws you right in.

And so to the final track of the album ‘Walk On Land‘. Starting off with acoustic guitar and multiple layered vocals. A pronounced bass line underlies the track, but it is controlled, not boomy or overriding the rest of the track. A very atmospheric song with a bit of a different feel to it, the piano helping bring the whole package together.

I think this album shows how Chantel has grown as an artist and I’d of thought it will help garner her more fans in the process. Can’t wait to here this material live.