Bonafide
Flames

It has become half a dozen albums for Bonafide now, we have reviewed some of them over the years and we have rarely been impressed with what they have had on offer. Their album Bombo that I reviewed in 2013 was a step forward, I did not hear their 2015 effort but for this one I have been all-ears listening to Flames. What strikes me once again is how devoid of artistic creativity this album is, how these guys will never do what AC/DC have managed to do. The difference in sound is negligible and I think the Bonafide might even be better than AC/DC but AC/DC did their thing at the right time, something that Bonafide doesn’t. That is also something that will prevent Bonafide from making an impression, the bands that have made an impression has always done their thing while Bonafide seems more like Xeroxing a picture or a Chimpanzee learning sign language – there is nothing original about it.

It sounds like a lost AC/DC recording, more or less. Old-school rock music, simple chords and choruses, nothing really exciting and nothing we haven’t heard before. The old farts will probably rejoice a lot stating that it is what they grew up with. It is an album without surprises and it even plays for more or less the same time as any old album from that era. They produce it well and the songs can be described as a well-made piece of handiwork. There is not much to say about how this album sound and what it has to offer as it doesn’t offer anything we haven’t heard before and it isn’t special in any way that I can think of.

Still, it is a decent album, the songs are okay and you can listen to it. Not as good as Bombo and you grow tired of it quickly. It caters to their audience, the old geezers that dreams of times long since passed and forgotten. Their fans will love this as they have loved what they have done before; there isn’t really any difference between this album and anything else that Bonafide have managed to create this far. They are a band that makes me doubt the artistic and creative aspect of musicians, so many albums just copy what others have done before them – just like these guys do. To me Bonafide are like a cover band that write their own lyrics, that isn’t very interesting. But the album is pretty decent nevertheless.

In the end I think Flames is what we can expect from Bonafide, a decent album that sounds like something from AC/DC. If you like Bonafide you will like this, and if you like the old simple stuff you will probably be an old geezer and old geezers like this kind of music. It is good and solid stuff, kind of like a Volvo – a safe bet but about as much fun as a visit to the dentist.

HHHHHHH