Simon RushworthHarem Scarem — Chasing Euphoria (Frontiers)
Imagine forming a melodic rock band in the same year that Whitesnake’s 1987, Def Leppard’s Hysteria, Heart’s Bad Animals, Kiss’s Crazy Nights and Loverboy’s Wildside redefined the genre?
That’s exactly what Canada’s Harem Scarem were inspired to do.
By the time 1991’s self-titled debut revealed dream partnership Harry Hess and Pete Lesperance to be the real deal, the shadow of grunge was already looming large.
Two years later, the career-defining Mood Swings was nothing like the tastemakers and trendsetters of the day defined as popular rock.
And yet that remarkable record was a stunning body of work, boasting more meaty hooks than a Toronto slaughterhouse and showcasing Hess at his compelling best.
Singles No Justice, Change Comes Around and If There Was A Time represented a dizzying melodic rock peak with Lesperance, in particular, cementing a reputation for truly peerless axe work.
Fast forward more than 30 years and Harem Scarem have lost none of their intuitive talent for producing polished pop rock par excellence.
Chasing Euphoria could be the catch-all raison d’être for a band that’s always pursued joyous perfection through its uplifting anthems and riff-fuelled positivity.
And Harem Scarem are still in the race: a dynamic first long player in five years suggests that quest for melodic rock ecstasy is far from over.
Here’s hoping. Both Hess and Lesperance look and sound like men still Chasing Euphoria… and chasing the rock and roll dream.
Harem Scarem’s reckless pursuit of perfection
When Harem Scarem reunited for Nottingham’s legendary Firefest in 2013 it always felt like one of melodic rock’s most treasured flag bearers was back for good.
And the following year’s Thirteen ushered in a run of three outstanding albums in six years.
The prophetic, pandemic-busting Change The World (2020) completed the comeback streak but Chasing Euphoria tops the lot.
Hess and Lesperance have never sounded better as they blast through 10 perfectly crafted songs, made to measure for the newly buoyant AOR market.
Only one song here — Understand It All — tops four minutes but this is a compelling body of work built on quality, not quantity.
If it’s good enough, it’s long enough and every track here meets that ageless mantra.
Lesperance is on another level as his phenomenal fretwork paces In A Bad Way.
The Leppard-esque Reliving History leans on Brendan Waters’ subtle keys and features the ubiquitous Pete Newdeck (that bloke gets everywhere!) on backing vocals.
Hess has his big moment on brooding ballad World On Fire but the layered vocal melodies underpinning A Falling Knife cut the deepest.
If Chasing Euphoria set out to rediscover the pure joy of Mood Swings then it’s melodic rock mission complete.
Harem Scarem’s best work of the band’s modern era is nothing short of sensational.
