Wigelius
Reinventions

Apparently there is a TV-show called True Talent that is being shown on Swedish national television and it was from that show Frontiers favourite producer Daniel Flores learnt of the talents of singer Anders Wigelius. Then they built a band around this this guy where his brother is playing the drums making the name of the band a logical one having two guys with that surname. It was the song Don’t Stope Believin’ in original by Journey he is said to have been performing on said TV-program, not really the most original choice is it? Then considering the facts that bands like Journey, Toto and Foreigner are mentioned as inspirations for this guy it is easy to deduce that it is all about AOR. The logo and cover seems to support this as well, sometimes things are not what they appear though. However, this time we are dealing with something on Frontiers and surprises isn’t really their forte.

And sure enough it is in accordance with AOR 101 or AOR For Dummies which are the sources every Frontiers person is required to read before doing anything in terms of work for the label. And Wigelius sounds as AOR usually does with a very melodic foundation with strong guitar melodies along with catchy choruses and a sing along feel to it all. It is easy to take in from first listen and it is sort of infectious. There are no surprises, everything sounds according to the format and even though the album is a bit varied it doesn’t really feel like you are getting any variation through the 46 minutes it keeps going. The production is flawless which one would expect from any band in this genre and the voice of Anders is excellent for the genre. The band themselves are very melodic and skilled and their performances on this album is excellent as well. So, all is good then? that is the typical question and the answer to this isn’t really that clearcut but the fact that the band does not really stand out from the lake of similar albums out there already isn’t that much of a positive though.

The opening track Angeline is quite brilliant to be honest and it is catchy, you just want to sing along as you want to do with several of the songs on the album. But after a few play throughs you start noticing that it sounds just like any other AOR band and then it isn’t as positive as before. There is nothing on this album that stands apart from everything else in the genre and why should you get this album if you already have some Journey, Toto or Foreigner albums along with some other Frontiers albums in your collection? Maybe you want something from 2012? otherwise there isn’t really any reason whatsoever, it is another one of those good but pointless albums that is being released by Frontiers. Not bad at all but following the format to the letter only leaves you with that, a good album that will become one more in an already overflowing river of albums, kind of like the flooding in parts of Småland in Sweden earlier this summer. But in a metaphoric way of course where the albums are flowing over the walls against the ever-rising river and peoples basements becomes flooded with albums mostly from Frontiers and will have to be pumped out and things like that.

Another case of “another one” another decent AOR album that is to be added to the millions that already exist and another one that doesn’t have anything that makes it stand out in any way. Sure this is a debut and it seems as though this is a competent band with a fair bit of talent so it will not be impossible for them to create something magical somewhere down the line. But it they want to do that they will have to start copying others and start breaking some rules because otherwise they will just be another one of those very forgetful bands that Frontiers have in their artist line up.