Mike Tramp
Stray From the Flock

It was a while since Mike strayed from his flock of lions and now he has strayed from the flock with his new album that is called Stray From the Flock and album that looks to be in the same vein as the ones he have done during the last decade or longer. In the same style as the two previous that we have reviewed here at Hallowed, positively reviewed I should add. It is an album of ten tracks that ends with one called Die With a Smile on Your Face, and why shouldn’t you? Die with a smile that is, but before we do that we might see whether or not we should enjoy the most recent album by Mike Tramp in our music machines.

It is the same kind of album as the two we have reviewed before this one, rock music, simple, emotional, well performed, Mike plays on the more basic features of the genre and does it really well. Excellent vocals and production, just like the previous ones. No real surprises, those knowing the albums he has released previous to this one will find it very familiar, almost to a point of déjà vu. It is an album with a decent variation but I think it feels a little bit long; the tempo is a bit low overall so it feels like Mike could have skipped one or two songs in order to make the album a bit more direct and dynamic.

I like this album; it is solid and builds on what he did well on the two albums that preceded it. But I don’t think that it is quite as good as those previous albums, more bland more made on routine or something. Tramp himself claimed that the songs just poured out of him and perhaps that’s the thing, it was too simple and the real effort was never there – of course that is only guessing and the reason may simply be that the songs are not as good as they were on the previous album. And that the album isn’t as exciting as that album was. Another little niggle is that he starts with the best songs and then it is only downhill from there, not steeply downhill but downhill nonetheless.

Fans of Tramp and his solo work will find this album very appealing as well, it is the same thing and it is made really well so you cannot fault it too much. I think it is a very solid album with good music, good songs, good atmosphere, songs that will work really well on the stage with a Tramp standing there on the stage performing his very strong and authentic rock songs without any needless fireworks and other gimmicks. Good stuff and who can really fault something that ends dying with a smile on the face? I can’t.

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