elevener symmetry in motion

Released: 30 May 2011 Label: AOR Heaven

This is the second album from Swedish AOR maestros Elevener. It’s full of the same melodic lines, guitar breaks and nicely tuned vocals as their first opus, When Kaleidoscopes Collide, and overall, it’s a pretty decent piece of work.

Bear in mind though, this is AOR, so don’t expect anything too heavy, too challenging or too intimidating. Instead, sit back, let the melodies wash over you like a gentle, warming tide in a tropical lagoon, but without the sharks nibbling your feet, and relax and enjoy it. Have a beer, maybe two and watch the world go by as you soak up the music.

From the anthemic opening track, Just As I Thought, right through to the soulful For the Times We Share, and then back up to the closing track, Modern Times, the band are working away. Iit’s all nicely produced and balanced. There’s a mix of pace and mood through the album, which is good, however, nothing stands out and grabs you by the ears, demanding to be listened to.

There will be a well established fanbase out there, fans who love this music, and who think it’s brilliant, and that’s fair enough. It is, after all, well performed, well produced and nicely balanced. The opener is an outstanding anthem, and For the Times We Share is beautiful. But, I found it a bit dull throughout.

Accept the album as a piece of well performed AOR and it makes a lot of sense, because it is classic AOR, with a minimum dose of ‘80s rock blended in, a bit like M.Ill.Ion, but without the urgency.

by Alan Thomson