Cameltoe
Up Your Alley

With a name like that it can only be a band from Norway, the land and people who can never really be taken seriously and Cameltoe is a fitting name for a band from there. Up Your Alley they claim in the title of their debut album, I wonder if they can really back a claim like that up. That is what I am about to find out in my analysis of this album that has an artwork that I think looks a fair bit like a power metal artwork and the logo is in that style as well. Knights and all that stuff, but is it really that and is it up my alley?

Well, musically they are of the eighties style, bands like Ratt and Dokken are mentioned in the press material and they are quite good points of reference to describe an album like this. Classic hardrock with fairly catchy songs and decent vocals, the production is pretty good as well. There is nothing that really stands out in terms of style and when you have heard the first notes you can be fairly sure of what the rest of the album is going to sound like. We get the standard variation and songs that doesn’t surprise. Good thing is that they keep it fairly short so at least it doesn’t feel overly long even though it fails to offer anything original.

I think that the album is too predictable and not good enough to be a strong band that just does a genre according to the mould. They are surely not bad and their music will probably seem quite great for those really into this eighties nostalgia and those who enjoys to hear the same thing over and over again. But to me it feels like a big yawn, I found Screaming my Head Off to be quite a great song at first but I grew bored with it after the second time I heard it and I am not really sure that there is anything on this album that really stands out for me. This is an album that is bound for obscurity, and that will happen quickly despite the name.

Impressive is not the word of the day and while it may be up someone’s alley, it is certainly not up my alley. I think that Cameltoe really needs a long rethink and they need to find a voice of their own rather than just copying what many, many others have done before them. A big yawn might be the most lasting impression I have of this album.

HHHHHHH