Music that one will one want to come back to time and again.
When Melodic Rock is done right, a listener can become part of a world where mortgages, the wants and needs of others, and deadlines don’t exist - if even for a short while. The unison of Michael Shotton (Von Groove), Tommy LaVerdi (21 Guns), and Josh Ramos (Hardline, The Storm) is AOR perfection.
No written words can praise ‘Down To The Core’ high enough. The music is comforting at times and raucous at others. From one track to the next, it flows naturally and easily. The vocals lay like a blanket on a base of Rock music that is just melodic enough to calm but still hard enough to provide a punch when needed. The music of L.R.S. is refined to a high shine, with no expense spared to offer a sound that is as smooth as glass. The only words that need to be said, is buy this, put it into your player, close your eyes and allow the diversion that comes from ‘Down…’ to overtake you.
The vocals sound similar to Harem Scarem’s Harry Hess, the guitars and keyboards are in great form, the drums hard hitting and the bass gives certain tracks a rocking resonance. It’s easy to hear hints of Journey or Two Fires but add to that blend the AOR of Harlan Cage, the celebrated towering choruses of 101 South, and the unbelievable melodies of Khymera and you have what will certainly become one of 2014’s best releases. Do your frenzied life an act of kindness, find a place free of outside strife and listen to the luxurious guitars with a chorus that climbs to points past as is heard on ‘Not One Way To Give’, the incredible love song ‘To Be Your Man’, the rocking keyboards of ‘Never Surrender’, the stirring ‘Almost Over You’, the expressive ‘Universal Cry’ and the pure AOR that is ‘Shadow Of A Man’.
Every once in a great while a release comes along that is so hard to put aside, that you want to keep the music close; so whenever life seems overpowering to the point of aggravation, do this - play L.R.S. ‘Down To The Core’. Believe me when I say that it will make everything better, for at least the length of the album’s playing time anyway, and sometimes that is all we need to give us the ability to soldier on.
In closing, this is a stunning cacophony of sentiment, amazing talent, and music that one will one want to come back to time and again.
Franco Cerchiari
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