ELECTRIC GUITARS – String Fever

This sophomore release by Danish guitarists Soren Andersen and Mika Vandborg, AKA Electric Guitars, features a slick, modern yet vintage sounding production, consistent songwriting and textbook perfect performances on all instruments, vocals included. Unfortunately, String Fever lacks the artistic substance it needs to back up the top tier execution. The album has a distinct “Beatles meets AC/DC” vibe about it and manages to deliver a sonically beautiful album of rather forgettable songs. This would be the perfect soundtrack for your mid-summer afternoon BBQ where you talk about maybe buying a boat someday and wonder what ever happened to that one guy from High School.

The lyrics, for the most part, are at about the same level of originality and creativity as the band’s name and album title. Most listeners could probably guess with startling accuracy the lyrics before they are actually sung. For less experienced audiences this album could be rated perhaps as high as an 8. In some ways it’s like a more raw sounding Nickelback. Fans of any established metal sub-genre however will most likely find that this album is more suited to background music and not something you actually actively listen to.

All that being said, there is no denying the excellent production work that went into this album. All the tones are crisp, the mix is well balanced and the mastering is bright, shiny and thick. Perhaps some of the tracks from String Fever will find a happy home on a film or TV soundtrack. It’s an album of totally professional but totally inoffensive music.