Jono Moulds checks out the new album from Carl Sentance for The Rock & Roll Circus. Carl Sentance released his new album 'Electric Eye' on 19th November, out on Drakkar Entertainment.
"Electric Eye" is the name of the new solo album by ‘Carl Sentance’ (singer of NAZARETH). One thing is immediately clear when listening to the songs: Carl Sentance does not do things by halves. Each song goes immediately into the ear. Every song invites to headbanging & singing along.
Drums and bass assist in starting off ‘Judas’ before a simple, but effective guitar riff leads the way into the opening verse (which also appears during the free space left by the vocal). The song has an almost ‘NWOBHM/Saxon’ sound to it, especially that guitar riff, which soars and cuts through every time it’s played. It’s apparent, early doors, that ‘Sentance’ has some serious vocal capabilities. This comes racing into view during the very addictive chorus, which is awesome. As the second chorus
finishes, there is a break, where the guitar carries out some theatrics before the solo arrives, again, with some classic sounding lines and WAH effects to keep things interesting throughout. Great start, great tune.
A gradient introduction to the next track, ‘Alright’ as we have a guitar dominated opening to the song, however, the key and arrangement change completely as we hit the first verse. The verse has a ‘jagged/staggered’ vibe to it as a low range vocal reaches out. The chorus arrives out of the silence of a complete respite by the band, as ‘Sentance’ raises the vocal bar by going up several notches and screaming ‘Alright’. The chorus itself is powerful and has a great melodic/commercial edge to it, as it
runs into the second verse. A straight and simple guitar solo appears after the second run of the verse. The song completes itself with the band running over the chorus again, but with an extra piece added for good measure.
The album’s title track is up next, that being ‘Electric Eye’, which starts off with a mid-paced bass run and the single, constant beat of the kick drum which then leads into an almost ‘Split Enz - I Got You’ type vibe. This likeness is soon committed to memory as things start to ramp up, with the introduction of heavy, overdriven guitar and screaming vocal. After the onslaught, we return to just bass, drums, with a light guitar chugging away in the background once again, as we are on repeat of the opening verse. Of course, it all kicks off once again, as we move back to that heavy sound wherewe hear ‘Yeah, yeah, yeah’ ringing out, as guitar licks fly past throughout. A great mix on this one between a laid-back groove and full out attack. Top song.
Now onto ‘Overload’ which starts off at some pace, as drums are played at break neck speed, bass runs keep everything locked in place, while guitar chords lay down the foundation for the licks to pierce through to the front of the mix. Some start this, as ‘Sentance’ announces via verse 1, ‘Locked down, invaded - small town, created’. The solo is a surprise, in that, it starts just after the completion of the first chorus and for that matter, a second solo is positioned straight after the completion of the second chorus, both of which are played over different chord sequence to that of the rest of the song – Tidy!!
Somewhat of a short lived, bluesy guitar welcomes us to ‘Nervous Breakdown’ before we get hit by a lovely guitar break that seems to float above that introduced blues groove. The tune has a great mid-paced feel to it as ‘Sentance’ takes his vocal range down a peg or two during the initial sections of the song. In-between the verse sections, there are some great blues guitar licks thrown in, which really add to the flavour of the tune. The chorus, albeit played at the same pace, sees the vocal delivery ‘speed up’ along with the vocal range. Straight after this, more blues inspired keys/strings are brought in, just to rubber stamp the general vibe. The latter stages of the song see more,
prolonged keys/string section (think ‘If you tolerate this’ by the Manics’ – for me, it’s got the feel to it). Again, another top track, and then some.
‘Sabbathy’ (it’s not a word, but what am I to do??) style power chords (well, maybe Sabbath lite) open up ‘Exile’ as heavy drums crash in and a lead break dominates the start to this track. This has ‘stomper’ written all over it from the off, as the pace of the song is somewhere between slow to mid. This is about the heaviest track on the album so far, as we move from bass/drums over the first few lines, then straight onto searing vocals through to heavy guitar.
Lyrically, all the boxes are ticked as the songs dark and menacing musical content certainly marries both together perfectly. This does exactly as it says on the tin. Mid-point of the track sees further arrangement changes, where this ample room for some further lead breaks that has to said, are well backed-up by great heavy chord structures. Song of the album for me, well, at this point.
The crisp, rolled back volume/gain, chorus effect guitar sparkles at the start of ‘Young Beggars’. Yet again, the track starts off at an even pace, with an instant commercial edge to it, as ‘jagged’ guitar chords punctuate a continuous bass run. The opening verse is sung over this arrangement, up until ‘Sentance’ decides to ‘kick things up’ which is smartly accompanied by a simple, but constant lead break. The chorus has melancholic overtones and is memorable, again lending itself to that commercial bent, as mentioned earlier. Smashing stuff. Another very accomplished tune.
‘If this is Heaven’ is next on the list, and begins with another fleeting guitar dominated riff as we then get quickly move into an almost ‘Van Halen - Why Can't This Be Love’ feel. The verse pace quickens to that of the opening, as the drum beat speeds up ensuring the rest follow suit. The first line of the verse is actually the title of the tune – ‘If this is Heaven – Why am I still waiting?’ There is a subtle, but intelligent change of drum pattern around a third of way through, which is another
example of clever arranging that elevates a song and makes it far more interesting to listen to. Some guitar work ensues (the first of two pieces) soon after this, which has been well thought out, all before we head back into the main melody line of the song. This tune moves and has a hard edge, but the hook will definitely get you.
More guitar riffage to be found, as we hear the ‘Battle-cry’ for the first time. Palm muted guitar chords are the prominent feature throughout the song’s inauguration, as the bass once again keeps a flow of resonant runs to keep everything rhythmically pieced together. There is a very delicate sound of ‘New Year’s Day by U2’ within the song’s rhythm (just my opinion folks!!) The pre-chorus sets things up to great effect, as we hear ‘Save me – we’re running out of time’ – ‘Save me – when you hear the Battle-cry!!’. This is another track which showcases not only the vocal to maximum effect, but the band as a whole.
‘California Queen’ brings everything to a finale, and which arrives in the most peculiar and odd way (well in comparison to the rest of the songs, at least) as things start up with a brief section that sounds like a cross between a synth and a light guitar, but rest assured, this is just lulling us into a false sense of security as we find our way back into the album’s core sound. A heavy and hook laden guitar scrunches up the opening sequence and kicks into the nearest waste paper bin. The verses are
straight ahead rock, but its only when you get to the chorus that things take off, as you are hit with a classic hook, that’s instant. Some way to finish off the album.
When I was a kid, my older sister used have a few Nazareth singles within her collection and I recall a few of them (‘My White Bicycle’ springs to mind). I was then re-introduced to them in the early 80’s when they had a resurgence in amongst the NWOBH, but this was with what I recall as the original
line up.
This is the first time I’ve listened to ‘Carl Sentance’, in any way, shape or form and, it has been some introduction. This album is filled with great songs, that abundantly show not only the vocal ability of ‘Sentance’, but the writing, playing and craft that the band has, with the knock-on effect being ‘Electric Eye’. I’ve been genuinely surprised by it and I urge anybody who is considering it, to try it!!
Review by Jono Moulds
Album available "HERE".
Links to Carl Sentance :-
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Ceri Davies
Presenter and Co-Director
