Released by Melodic Passion Records, ”Nine Lives” is the new album from Swedish singer KAJ POUSAR. He may be a new face for many, but Kaj is certainly an artist with both passion and fire. This is melodic rock and hard rock, straight from the heart, with melodies and AOR influences deep in the roots of the late 1970s and 1980s, produced for 2023.
Kaj started his solo career singing in Swedish and got plenty of radio time. The debut album ‘Livet’ was released in 2012. In autumn 2014, the single ‘Egen Staty’ – a duet with Tone Norum was released. He has toured as an opening act for Legends of Rock Bobby Kimball (ex-Toto), Fergie Fredriksen (ex-Toto), Joe Lynn Turner (ex Rainbow), Bill Champlin (ex Chicago).
On this album Kaj has some of Sweden’s best musicians on board: Tommy Denander on guitars, Andreas Habo Johansson on drums (Narnia, Rob Rock, Royal Hunt), Mats Valentin on guitars (Santana, Sting), bass player Thomas Blindberg (Michael Bolton, Kylie Minogue), and Johan Fransson – drums. ‘Nine Lives’ is produced by Samuel Waermö [Bon Jovi, John Farnham] mixed by Stefan Glaumann [Backyard Babies] and Martin Sweet [Crashdïet].
This is top class Scandinavian timeless Melodic Hard Rock with a modern sound, and we find two surprises; covers of DIO’s ‘Don’t talk to Strangers’ and Black Sabbath’s ‘Lonely is the Word’ – you will be surprised by the quality of this CD.
Since the driving opener ‘Femme Fatal’ this album combines greatly the Eighties catchiness with a modern, punchy vibrant production. ‘One Chance’ adds more groove and a harder sound, with Kaj’s strong tenor vocals dominating the tune before the big chorus explodes.
With ‘Behind Us’ the melodic rock in the Scandi ‘new wave’ style of the genre appears, and it’s one one of the best cuts on the album. Crunchy guitars drive ‘Out In Life’ with Kaj’s authoritative vocals all over, layered in the chorus for a great effect. Production and mix is top notch, clear and powerful.
‘Don’t Stay’ is a midtempo ballad but not pedestrian at all, with a lot of things going on in the mix and rich instrumentation. ‘My Hometown’ brings back the uptempo again, a huge rocker plenty of fire. The acoustically based ‘Read This Song’ adds a nice balance to the record, before the pretty killer midpaced ‘See Me’ offers more Swedish melodic rock magic.
‘The Creeps’ is a stupendous song, varied, intense at places, calmer at others, with great arrangements as on many tracks here. This album has many layers to discover, and deserve repeated listens.
The CD version of the album adds covers of Kaj’s major influences: DIO & Black Sabbath. Both ‘Don’t Talk To Strangers’ and ‘Lonely Is The Word’ exudes a fresh and contemporary vibe while paying homage to the original masterpieces. Pousar’s voice resonates with emotion and power, capturing the essence of the song’s themes.
Coming out of nowhere, KAJ POUSAR’s ”Nine Lives” is one of the surprises of the year. And a great one.
Terrific songwriting, arrangements worked to detail, first class musicianship and again; a monster production / mix makes this album a 2023 highlight.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
01 – Femme Fatal
02 – One Chance
03 – Behind Us
04 – Out In Life
05 – Don’t Stay
06 – My Hometown
07 – Read This Song
08 – See Me
09 – The Creeps
CD version Bonus Tracks:
10 – Don’t Talk To Strangers (DIO cover)
11 – Lonely Is The Word (Black Sabbath cover)
Kaj Pousar – Lead vocals
Mats Valentin – Guitar
Andreas Habo Johansson – Drums
Thomas Blindberg – Bass
Samuel Waermö – Keyboards, backing vocals
Carl Utbult – Strings
Johan Fransson – Drums
Tommy Denander – Guitar
KAJ POUSAR – Nine Lives 2023, MP3+WAV
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