Stoneflower
Finally

They say Finally, but finally what? I think that is the question to have when taking on the third album by Norwegian melodic rockers Stoneflower, an album they have called Finally. It has a pretty nice artwork but the text in red is not really right for it, so it wasn’t finally a great artwork, but relatively close. The band itself is new in parts with some new players, like drummer and vocalist to name a pair, for this album there are also prominent guests that have been heard in bands like A-Ha, Alice Cooper, Secret Garden, and more. Six years has passed since the previous album that was released in 2014, the debut was released back in 2003, it has been big changes around all albums so far. Maybe it is finally a new album? Or finally a solid band line-up?

 In terms of musical style, it is melodic rock/AOR we are dealing with, distinct and catchy choruses, strong emphasis on melodies, great vocals, and a very polished production with very clean sound. It will all sound very familiar to you if you often listen to the AOR genre, there are no surprises here. The variation is pretty good though and they keep playing time sensible, therefore it feels like a well-rounded album. It is not a fresh album though and not one of the more powerful AOR releases either, it feels pretty soft rocky and keeps far away from anything edgy.

There is no denying that this is a good album, some tracks like Shivering Hands, the title track and Keylee can with some good will even be called vaguely memorable. Still, it isn’t really finally a new album as it doesn’t really offer anything really exciting, if anything it is a bit cautious or cowardly. They should dare to push the singer outside his comfort zone and not just having him comfortably delivering lyrics, I think this has a slightly negative impact on the emotional resonance of the album. The tried and tested is good when it comes to things like bridges, cars, bicycles, shoes, stoves, refrigerators, boats, planes, these are things that doesn’t need or perhaps even shouldn’t push the boundaries or operate outside the set-up parameters. It is another thing with music, to be interesting, you need to challenge the conventional and to move outside the established parameters to make an impact. The tried and tested is forgettable.

These guys are probably very appealing to the AOR-fans, and if you are one of those why not check out these guys. I think they should have dared more, risked more, for a band that doesn’t really have anything to lose they sure don’t take any risks. Sure, the album is good, I cannot really take out my chainsaw and cut them to pieces as they are too good for that. I do however know, that it will not be an album considered by many to be among the best when we look back at 2020. It is good but ultimately it is a middle-of-the-road album that will be fast forgotten. So, the answer is probably finally I am done with this one and can put it away.

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