Backyard Babies – 4our by 4our

2015-09-082015-09-25 Samira Alinto

Label: Gain Music Playtime: 34:36 Release: 28.08.2015

Seven years pause and nine songs, with a bit more than a half an hour play time, that’s just the objective, first look at new Backyard Babies album “4our by 4our”. Well, luckily length is not the most important thing in many places and even if the last track “Walls” – which is my favourite – is an over seven minute long horror themed monster track, which might be that long to at least surpass 30 minutes play time, who cares since the album is great otherwise. But is it?

The opener “Th1irt3en Or Nothing” is a sleaze rock piece in old Backyard Babies manner. Also “I’m On My Way To Safe Your Rock’n Roll” and “Wasted Years” are straight in your face. I’m pretty sure, that not only I have to get used to “White Line District”, “Bloody Tears”, “Piracy”, “Never Finish Anything” and “Mirrors” at the first round. They sound… how can I say it without scaring you away? Adult, mature, tamed? Before you run off now, that doesn’t have to be a bad thing, as I found myself getting into those songs during the second and third time listening. Okay, the songs are without the rough edges the quartet is well-known for and “Bloody Tears” is a bit too cheesy for my taste, but ballad fans will like it nevertheless. “Mirrors” is a ballad as well, but very neat.

“Neat” and Backyard Babies? I remember a day when Nicke and Dregen called me boring for not drinking booze and doing drugs, but those guys are daddies now and not that young anymore – they are not the wild ones, they used to be. But let’s get back to the album. The songs have shown that the Backyard Babies have refined their sound and bursting out of the limits of a pure sleaze rock band. I wonder if they’re still able to perform the old songs live with the same energy and power and am eager to find it out on their tour in November.

Are they able to reach a new audience with “4our by 4our”? Yes! Will their fans remain loyal to them? Probably not all of them since this is not the style we’re used to. Nevertheless “4our by 4our” is an album which will remain in my playlist for quite some time.

www.backyardbabies.com