Review: StreetLore – StreetLore 

Art Of Melody Music & Burning Minds Music Group (Nov 25th, 2022)

Reviewer: Jason Hopper

Hailing from Italy, StreetLore is a new melodic rock project from keyboardist Lorenzo “Lorerock” Nava.  He had some material he had written over the years and played the demos for his friend, Pierpaolo “Zorro” Monti, who is the A&R/Producer for Burning Minds Music Group.  Zorro loved what he heard and decided to construct a project to showcase the material.  They hired some local musicians as well as reached out to a vast assortment of singers and songwriters to see who would be interested in being a part of this venture. The musicians, singers, and songwriters they assembled would go on to create one of the catchiest AOR/Melodic Rock albums of the year.

While I have not heard prior output from most of the singers featured, there are ones that I instantly recognized. Terry Brock sings on the track ‘Crossroad’, a song that feels like it could have come off an early Ten album. Drenched in keyboards and synths, its bombast is on full display with the chorus providing the right background vocals at key points in the lyrics, emphasizing certain words in an explosive manner. The vocal melding of Mr. Brock and two other singers that are showcased on the album make for the richest harmonies amongst all the tracks.

The other singer I recognized and was excited to hear was Dante Fox’s Sue Willetts. I was a huge fan of their first two albums and was hoping for something along those lines, and she did not disappoint. My favourite Dante Fox track is ‘Under The City Lights’, as Sue’s delivery of that song was entrancing. Channelling that vocal prowess, she emotes with the same passion and intensity on the track ‘Shadows and Lies’. It takes some time to build up, but by the time the chorus arrives, I had a big ol’ smile on my face.

Despite not knowing the other vocalists, they all pull off impressive work and there are great tracks scattered all over this release. Opening track and first single ‘Brothers’ was the song I checked out to see if this album was something I would like to review. By the time vocalist Davide “Dave Rox” Barbieri sings the chorus line “Like the wind! Twists the clouds!…” I knew this album was right up my alley.  Soaring descants and bombastic production collide to create a song that will stick with you for quite some time.

At first, I was not crazy about ballad ‘Aeglos’. It starts off too schmaltzy for my tastes, with just vocals and keyboards, but the song builds into a full band composition and by the second chorus, the crescendo won me over. Its lush arrangements and airy atmosphere are beautifully arranged. The type of song you could slow dance to with your significant other at a special gathering.

Another great track worth noting is the catchy ‘Say Farewell’. It’s all about the keys and background vocals with this rocker. Layers of vocals along with melodious vocables make for the best sounding chorus on the album. Singer Marcello Spera does a masterful job of handling all the vocals and hitting the perfect tone throughout.

While people’s tastes may differ in deciding which songs on this album are stronger than others, every song on this release is of the highest quality. It’s amazing to think Mr. Nava sat on this material for as long as he did and did not construct a band to showcase this to the world. He knows what it takes to create a pop hook and then build a rock sound around that entity.  All fans of AOR/Melodic Rock need to check this release out. I hope to hear more from him in the future.