Kylie Olsson, Journalist & Presenter

Holiday Listening

As I finally finish the last of the 12 new albums I’ve taken on holiday to listen to, I’m feeling deflated. I feel like I’ve just stepped into a broken time machine, with the button for 1980 being the only one still working. No amount of gelato is going to lift my mood.

Each week I get piles of CDs sent to me, I go to at least one gig, and I get hundreds of emails all from new bands trying to get their music heard. But the question is, how do they make it all happen? How do they make themselves stand out in a swarm of other bands, all vying for the same pot of honey? It’s hard, I don’t deny that, but the answer should be simple - just be good.

And I think that’s the problem with some new melodic bands these days. Rather than drawing from the bands that inspire them, they seem to be content with just imitating their idols. And let’s be honest, if we want to listen to Motley Crue then we will just listen to the Crue, because nine times out of ten they are better.

A whole new sub-genre of melodic rock is out there for the taking and if old-timers like winger and Tesla - who have both just put out blinding new albums - can move with the times, then why can’t the new musicians?

I want to hear music from a band that breathes a new life into AOR, giving it the second life it deserves. Bands like Tempt and Reckless Love are on the cusp of coaxing it out of its box, but I guess my point is, sometimes you can grab the zeitgeist by the scruff of the neck and shake it a little.

So I ask all you aspiring AORsters to give us something new: don't mimic but create, as you have a responsibility. The torch is yours, so use it wisely.