THIS WEEK I’M LISTENING TO...CHEZ KANE Powerzone (Frontiers)

Those with long memories will remember when, back in 1988, Femme Fatale exploded on the scene. Talented but short-lived, the band was fronted by Lorraine Lewis who did a pretty good job of projecting and glamour and seductiveness while still maintaining credibility as an amazingly good vocalist. Fast-forward thirty-plus years and Chez Kane occupies very similar territory both musically and visually. ‘Powerzone’ is an album of driving hard rock, heavy on the melody and with a healthy dose of saccharine sprinkled over the top, enveloped with overtly eye-catching imagery. There’s more than just a grain of truth in the old adage that people judge books by their cover, but fortunately ‘Powerzone’ does have the muscle to back it up.

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‘Powerzone’ is Ms Kane’s second solo album, although the Welsh singer is certainly no stranger to the limelight, having paid her dues with her sisters as a member of Kane’d for a decade or so. Her break came when Crazy Lixx’s Danny Rexon asked her to work with him and the result was her self-titled debut, released in March last year. ‘Powerzone’ repeats the formula –although with perhaps more panache and focus – with Kane providing the vocals and Rexon playing everything else aside from Jesse Molloy’s saxophone work in ‘Love Gone Wild’. It’s a hugely accomplished album, beautifully written and exquisitely performed, with the more lively cuts like ‘Nationwide’ and the title track balanced by the lighters-in-the-air tear-jerkers like ‘Streets Of Gold’. With good-time toe-tapping rock ‘n’ rollers like ‘I’m Ready (For Your Love)’ and the extended guitar work-out ‘Guilty Of Love’ lobbed in for good measure - well as wonderfully retro cover art – ‘Powerzone’ evokes the best of the Eighties’ melodic rock scene. And that’s no bad thing at all. For fans of Vixen, Femme Fatale, Lee Aaron, Lita Ford and many, many more...

Video clips:
‘Powerzone’ – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRWYhOTKlJk

‘I Just Want You’ – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FIqSK4K-ki8

'(The Things We Do) When We're Young In Love' - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkuX1n1BwIY