Most of the emotion and musicianship is lost in translation due to a disappointing production quality.
An overwhelming majority of the material contained on Escape's sophomore effort entitled 'Borderline' captures all the pomp and circumstance which defines the AOR genre.
The music possesses many signature accoutrements such as lush keyboards, anthemic choruses, and a healthy dose of technical guitar solos. Additionally, these tracks showcase a songwriting maturity which belies the bands short discography. Noteworthy tracks include, 'Coming Home', 'Marianne', 'Restless Heart' and 'Take Me To The Limit'.
Unfortunately, for all of the positive attributes that exist on 'Borderline', most of the emotion and musicianship is lost in translation due to a disappointing production quality which suffers from inferior dynamics, depth and clarity. As a result, the impact of those strong musical ideas fails to resonate. Although one would surmise that the musical content would supersede any sonic imperfections, it is bit too distracting for the songs on 'Borderline' to project from the speakers with fortitude. Escape's innate talent remains unquestionable, but the production will need to improve in order for the band to realize their true potential.
Once the production deficiencies are remedied, this UK quintet will undoubtedly turn some heads and elevate the band to a wider audience.
Brent Rusche
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