Chez Kane – Chez Kane (Frontiers)
The holy grail that is a live gig is some way off.
Even popping to the pub for a pint with your mate is still a pipe dream for now.
And while you can finally get your hair cut in Wales there’s not much else to do.
So let’s all pile round to Chez Kane.
It’s the new home of 80s-styled, radio-friendly pop rock.
A place which echoes to the reassuringly familiar sounds of Vixen, Femme Fatale and Heart’s hair metal era.
And a destination where blu-tacked posters of Lita Ford, Lisa Dominique and Robin Beck adorn the four walls.
Danny boy discovers a true talent
This self-titled debut shimmers like a glitter ball of retro-fuelled glory.
Singer Chez Kane makes the transition from family band to solo frontwoman with consummate ease.
And in producer Danny Rexon (of Crazy Lixx fame) she’s found the perfect spandex-clad partner in crime.
Best known as one third of hotly tipped sister act Kane’d, Chez was scouted by Lixx as the new face of Frontiers’ ongoing commitment to nurturing hot new talent.
With a voice that seamlessly pays homage to Anne Wilson, Lorraine Lewis and the brilliant Beck, she’s the perfect choice to lead the melodic rock charge.
But if Kane is in thrall to her 80s icons then this is no lame reinterpretation of a bygone era.
Rexon ensures that his top pick puts a feisty new spin on a perennially popular sound.
And when Kane belts out Rocket On The Radio she’s not wrong.
Better Than Love? You bet!
Opener Better Than Love is a brave statement of intent but it sets the scene for a stunning record.
Kane and Rexon could have settled on the power and punch of a three-minute single to kick things off.
Instead they set their stall out with more than five minutes of passion-fuelled perfection featuring a sax solo to die for.
And from that point onwards things only get better.
All Of It is perfect for crowd participation with its call-to-arms chorus and killer hook.
Who cares if it’s a blatant rip-off of Queen’s I Want It All?
Then there’s the totally on-point Too Late For Love.
It’s not a cover of the Def Leppard classic and yet the guitar work and vocal harmonies — as well as the title — do nod towards Sheffield’s finest.
Kane channels her inner Wilson to dizzying effect and it’s some way to mark the halfway point of a simply sublime album.
Defender of the 80s
Ball N’ Chain is the only wrong turn here and could be the one tune to curl Rexon’s toes in years to come.
But it’s a singular misstep on a record rammed with future radio hits.
Defender Of The Heart puts the power into power ballad and there’s more than a hint of Bonnie Tyler underpinning this belter of an anthem.
Starship-style keys kick off the poppy Die In The Name Of Love as Kane keeps the 80s alive.
When it comes to wearing her heart on her sleeve, one of the UK’s most underrated talents Chez it like it is.
Kane is more than able. And she’s ticked off every soft metal box in the book to drop one of the albums of 2021.
