Jul 122 min read

Remedy - 'Pleasure Beats The Pain'

If you loved the debut, you’ll flip when you hear this... brilliant!

Although the Melodic Rock scene seems to have plateaued of late (due in no small part to a myriad of ever more beige releases and cash grab studio projects choking the life out of the market), two bands (both from Sweden) have really struck a chord in the past couple of years. The first is of course Nestor who reignited their stalled eighties/ nineties career in a blaze of very astute video-led publicity, the second is Remedy who exploded from seemingly nowhere with the quite brilliant ‘Something That Your Eyes Won't See’ just before Christmas 2022.

Built around the songwriting talents of guitarist Roland “Rolli” Forsman and distinguished by the arresting, instantly discernible voice of Robert Van der Zwan, Remedy are an unashamed throw-back to the eighties; yet their melody-rich, hook- laden songs are just so effortlessly vibrant and timeless.

Teasing its release in late November last year with the brooding majesty of ‘Sin For Me’ – a track every bit as good as anything that had gone before – on sophomore album ‘Pleasure Beats The Pain’ they have really started to push the boundaries yet still retained that wonderfully upbeat joie de vivre that initially drew my (and many others’) attention.

Opening their latest account with the cocksure swagger of ‘Crying Heart’, it’s reassuring to see that nothing has really changed in terms of the contagious nature of the songwriting, yet the heavier bottom end (especially in that glorious chorus) just takes things to the next level in terms of sonic impact. Following that is the equally infectious ‘Moon Has The Night’ and the aforementioned ‘Sin For Me’, both of which deftly assuage any lingering doubts that they might have hit that dreaded second album syndrome – trust me guys, they haven’t!

Elsewhere you get the impossibly infectious ‘Angelina’ (its bouncy Scandie AOR brashness would’ve been quite the big deal back in 1986), the plaintive, acoustic- led simplicity of ‘Something They Call Love’, the pumping ‘Hearts On Fire’ and equally frothy ‘Hide And Seek’; but in all honesty, wherever you touch down you’ll find musical nirvana.

On the production front Forsman has crafted a tougher sounding album which perfectly marries that Pop Rock enthusiasm to some Hard Rock gravitas, whilst Erik Mårtensson has once again made that final mix shine like a diamond!

If you loved the debut, you’ll flip when you hear this... brilliant!