“Check this album out!”
“Hey man, give this one a listen!”
I get hit with that multiple times on a daily basis and there’s just not enough time in the day to listen to all of the requests that I get. So, sometimes you have to rely on your gut or intuition when it comes to some of the albums that you receive. It’s always a really good feeling when take a chance on one and you strike gold. Yeah, that feels really, really good. I recently had a request asking if I would have time to check out a duo called Alice Loves Alien. Well, the name was interesting, but what’s in a name? My gut told me to say yes and a copy of the CD appeared in my mailbox a few days later.
The liner notes in the self-titled debut album provided me with some info on the band. Alice Loves Alien is comprised of vocalist Gina Andia who wrote four tracks on the album and plays acoustic guitar on them. The other half of the duo is Brendan Clark who wrote eight of the tracks and plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, organ, piano, keyboards and percussion. He produced and arranged the album and did a good share of engineering. He also arranged and edited the drums. Clark sounds like he went to the Prince School of Music and I like that! I didn’t waste any time in grabbing my headphones and jumping right into the album!
The album goes from 0 to about 90 within a few seconds of the opening track “Pale Horse” kicking off. There’s so much captured within this one track that you can’t help but wonder what the rest of the album is going to be like. The guitar work from Brendan Clark is powerful and a thing of beauty. The guy is a beast, but yet he knows when to pull back because less can be more. Speaking of powerful, vocalist Gina Andia is a powerhouse of a singer and really knows how to convey the emotions of the lyrics in her delivery. If Stevie Nicks and Pat Benatar had a love child, it would be Gina Andia.
“House of Cards” is a favorite track of mine that I keep gravitating back to. I especially love the breakdown about midway through when the band slows everything down. Clark takes over lead vocals on “Dead Man Walking” and the contrast in his vocal and Andia’s is like night and day. They’re both powerful, but Clark’s in pretty deep and reminds me a bit of Pete Steele from Type O Negative or Brad Roberts from Crash Test Dummies. It’s definitely a range that you don’t hear very often these days and a cool relief from so many people sounded way too similar. He’s not a one trick pony either vocally because the dude has some range and it’s apparent on the track “We Sleep.”
“Karma is a Bitch” is a sassy ass little number that has a lot of attitude and groove throughout. This is an infectious little number and it’s pretty damn impossible to listen to this track and not move. “When You Go” changes up the tempo a bit and is a bit of a piano power ballad with Andia and Clark trading off lyrics. There’s still plenty of Clark’s tasty guitar fills throughout the track. You don’t always find an album’s closing track to be one of its strongest on the album, but it definitely occurs on here with “Dare to Dream.” It’s another rocker that’s rich both musically and lyrically.
Overall, this is a damn solid album from Alice Loves Alien. There is a wealth of talent between these two individuals that blends together beautifully to create the sound of Alice Loves Alien. I can pick up on classic 70s rock influences, 80s and even 90s. There is also a bit of a soulful presence that weaves it way throughout the album. Although I can hear what I believe to be some of their influences throughout the album, it all sounds fresh and original. We already have too many bands following a formula today, so this album is a breath of fresh air. I’d love to catch them live because I have read quite a bit of posts from individuals who have and say that they are a sight to behold. Delivering the goods live is where it really happens and this band takes it to another level when they hit that stage. I highly encourage you to give this album a try and I hope you dig it as much as I did.
I’m Music Magazine Owner/Editor Johnny Price
Purchase/stream your copy of Alice Loves Alien everywhere you can stream and download music (Spotify, iTunes, Amazon, etc.)
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brendanclarkguitar/
