Review: Counterline – Two

Lions Pride Music (September 30^th, 2024)

Reviewer: Jason Hopper

Counterline have returned to the scene after releasing their debut in 2021. At the time, the band flew under my radar, but label Lions Pride Music is looking to change that with the release of their second album, the obviously titled ‘Two’. I checked out a sampling of their songs on YouTube and found their sound to be right up my alley. After one playthrough of the album, what stuck out to me was the number of ballads featured on the album. Five of the twelve tracks are slower numbers (and two are duplicates, more on that later). I usually rank an album with that many ballads a tad lower. Ballads are like spices, they add flavor, but too much and it overpowers the album. With that said, all the ballads are strong and was not bothered by the number that there were.

Opening with the mid-tempo slow burn of ‘Night of Rock and Roll’, the band does a well enough job of preparing the listener for what is to come. It has a great balance of Def Leppard-inspired pop rock heaviness with an infectious melody that sticks with you. However, Track 2 is the one that made me stand up and take notice. ‘Away’ is simply beautiful and hits you right in the melodic rock feels. When a song builds in a crescendo and a band nails it with a soaring chorus, there’s just nothing in the world better than that. The more I listened to it, the more I loved it.

Other great rockin’ tracks include ‘Hanging by a Thread’, with great use of keyboards and an extended solo that also serves as an outro. ‘My Voice Won’t Fade’ has the slow build of an acoustic guitar that erupts into a harmonious blast at the chorus.

‘Fantasy’ is one of the most up-tempo tracks on the album. However, lead singer Harold Waller makes the decision to lower his register in the chorus, which is a bit of a pet peeve of mine.  Choruses should have either a sustained or higher key change. Lowering his register pulls the power away from the song, lessening the impact. A shame as this could have been a standout.

With Harold’s vocal approach better suited to the slower songs, he does a terrific job handling them. Of the five, my two favorites are ‘Those Shadows’, a sincere heartfelt ballad about letting go of your past, and ‘Jenyfer’, which is obviously about a girl. In both, keyboardist Diego Sanardi creates the main melody line.  It’s nothing ground-breaking but conveys the right amount of passion to pull at the heartstrings.

At times I did find Harold’s accent to be a bit distracting as he has some enunciation issues on a few songs. ‘Tears of a Fallen Angel’ is one example. He speeds through the title in the chorus to make it fit the structure of the song, and in doing so, his accent makes it difficult to ascertain what he is saying.

I do take issue with one aspect of the album. Track 4’s ‘Those Shadows’ and Track 7’s ‘Extrano’ (Spanish for “Strange”) are the exact same song, except one is sung in Spanish. Perhaps the lyrics are different, and I don’t speak Spanish, but the music is the same. Usually, a band will include a different language version of a song at the end of an album, like a bonus track, but never in the middle of an album. This strikes me as deceptive.

This is an overall strong release. I cannot compare it to their first album as I have not listened to it but I’m sure fans of that one will enjoy this. It’s a solid set of songs, well-constructed and played with a conviction that enhances the various themes of each track. Lovers of AOR and 80s style pop rock will want to seek this out.

Tracklist:

1. Night of Rock and Roll
2. Away
3. Fantasy
4. Those Shadows
5. Tears of the Fallen Angel
6. Hanging by a Thread
7. Extrano
8. My Voice Won’t Fade
9. Jenyfer
10. Beast Unleashed
11. No More Reason
12. Beyond

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