SACRED HEART – Shake

The first album from British Hard Rockers Sacred Heart, 2004’s Lay It On The Line, garnered some solid reviews from the music press and won the foursome a respectable fan following. In 2007, Sacred Heart returns with their 12-song independently-released sophomore effort, simply entitled Shake.

Sacred Heart seems to be strongly influenced by the crowd-pleasing Hard Rock that filled stadiums and the radio airwaves a decade or two ago, albeit with modern production values and a bit more edge. The dozen songs on Shake contain abundant amounts of strong, crunchy riffs and well-done solos, catchy vocalizations, and lots of solid hooks and melodies. Most of the songs are mid-paced thumpers, with a couple of decent ballads dropped into the playlist for a change of pace. While all of these songs could easily get radio airplay, the production contains just enough grit to keep things from getting too slick.

Musically, Shake is done well: the band knows how to play and how to write catchy tunes that get your attention. Shake is one of those albums that won’t blow you away with its brilliance; it’s the sort of “fun” disc that everyone needs to listen to once in a while. The better songs have an infectious spirit that makes you want to sing along with them.

As mentioned, most of the songs on Shake are hard-hitting Rock tunes with a couple of ballads: “Maybe” and “Natalie” are two good slower tracks, with “Maybe” having all the makings of a memorable power ballad. Paul Stead (who also handles some guitar duties here) is an effective vocalist, and delivers some strong work behind the microphone.

Shake has no bad songs on it; there are no tracks here that will make you hit the “Skip” button. Tunes like “Afraid,” “Paradise,” “Lost,” “Promise,” “Perfect,” and “1000 Tears” are guaranteed crowd-pleasers with their big riffs, fun lyrics, and bouncy melodies. “Lift You Up” (one of only three songs here with a title longer than a single word) is a little darker and grittier, verging on the border of Modern Rock; it’s still a good song, just one that’s a little different from the others.

With Shake, Sacred Heart shows that the dreaded sophomore jinx that has affected many other bands hasn’t hindered them in the slightest; for fans of solid Hard Rock, this album is a strong choice.