Spring Break
Damone's Sophomore Album Rocks Out, 80s Style
Stephen Ortiz
Issue date: 9/21/06 Section: Focus
Reminiscent of the feel good 1980s hair metal, Damone's "Out Here All Night," the Boston quartet's follow up to its 2003 debut "In the Attic," rocks. And rocks well.
In the three years between albums, the group had run into an exceeding amount of bumps in the road. From their first guitarist/songwriter quitting the group, conflicting issues with their record label, RCA Records, and major financial issues, their future didn't look too bright.
Miraculously, it all turned around.
The group recruited a new guitarist Mike Woods, friend of drummer Dustin Hengst. They began writing their own music collaboratively, and even took producing into their own hands. Then to top things off, they parted ways with RCA and found a home at Island Def Jam.
The result? An album that is more personal than their previous, a blend of 1980s glam, girl-power rock and a hard edge that thoroughly defines the group as a whole. Too many people couldn't quite figure out Damone on their first album because they were mixing both punk and metal, but for their second , punk is out and in are the leather jackets and tattoo parlors.
"Out Here All Night," is 12 tracks of fast guitar riffs, pop-rock anthems and the beautiful voice of front girl Noelle LeBlanc, who's been described as the Joan Jett of the Myspace generation. It's an infectious mix of riffs, chords and catchy choruses that'll stick in your head long after the stereo is off.
The true shining moment of the entire CD is found in "What We Came Here For," a hard rock ode to the hair metal bands of old.
"I'm not someone you ignore/ give us what we came here for," LeBlanc belts out with the assistance of her back-up vocals from Woods and Vazquez, all over a guitar riff that will get your head banging and your fists pumping.
The influence of bands like Dinosaur Jr., Motley Crue, Queen and Def Leppard are evident throughout, especially on anthems-with-an-attitude tracks like "Out of My Way."
In the three years between albums, the group had run into an exceeding amount of bumps in the road. From their first guitarist/songwriter quitting the group, conflicting issues with their record label, RCA Records, and major financial issues, their future didn't look too bright.
Miraculously, it all turned around.
The group recruited a new guitarist Mike Woods, friend of drummer Dustin Hengst. They began writing their own music collaboratively, and even took producing into their own hands. Then to top things off, they parted ways with RCA and found a home at Island Def Jam.
The result? An album that is more personal than their previous, a blend of 1980s glam, girl-power rock and a hard edge that thoroughly defines the group as a whole. Too many people couldn't quite figure out Damone on their first album because they were mixing both punk and metal, but for their second , punk is out and in are the leather jackets and tattoo parlors.
"Out Here All Night," is 12 tracks of fast guitar riffs, pop-rock anthems and the beautiful voice of front girl Noelle LeBlanc, who's been described as the Joan Jett of the Myspace generation. It's an infectious mix of riffs, chords and catchy choruses that'll stick in your head long after the stereo is off.
The true shining moment of the entire CD is found in "What We Came Here For," a hard rock ode to the hair metal bands of old.
"I'm not someone you ignore/ give us what we came here for," LeBlanc belts out with the assistance of her back-up vocals from Woods and Vazquez, all over a guitar riff that will get your head banging and your fists pumping.
The influence of bands like Dinosaur Jr., Motley Crue, Queen and Def Leppard are evident throughout, especially on anthems-with-an-attitude tracks like "Out of My Way."
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