Tokyo Motor Fist
Lions

Second album from Tokyo Motor Fist is about Lions, at least the title is Lions and the cover looks better than it did for the previous album. That previous album didn’t exactly put the world alight either so in most regards it wouldn’t be a hard album to surpass. This new one has eleven tracks like the previous and they have managed to lure Dennis DeYoung into doing some keys for the title track, I wonder what they paid as I doubt he would be interested in the track or the album for its quality. The last song claims that the winner takes all, if that is the case these guys will be left with nothing.

It is not a winning album for many reasons, one is that it is stylewise the same as the previous album and that wasn’t interesting. It is typical of the AOR/Stadium rock or whatever you like to call the melodic rock/hardrock that comes with overworked production, sing-along choruses and as much originality as any cover band. But hang on, you say, they aren’t a cover band. Yeah sure, they change the lyrics or if you like, they make something so generic that a white T-shirt looks colourful. Another reason is that it sounds really tired, kind of like on sleeping pills or something. It sounds so uninspired, so bland, so dreary, lifeless, lacklustre, boring, and many other things like that.

Fresh thinking and dramatic isn’t words that comes to mind when Lions plays through my speakers, the thought that comes to mind is that I should change to another album. It isn’t bad in vomit-worthy style or something to that effect, it just doesn’t take off and it seems more like the band just played through this one bored to death with themselves and their ability to write songs. It is the same as Trixter or Danger Danger and those kinds of bands, nothing of consequence really.

Still, despite all the boredom it is clear that it is an album that is too good to give the lowest ratings, but avoiding the real abyss is hardly a reason for anyone to check it out. Perhaps the quartet should raise their best fist in the air and then smash it as hard as they can into a brick wall, that might improve their song-writing skills. I think the wisest thing is to avoid this one, unless you want to try something slightly larger for your sleeping problems.  

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