REVIEW – Property Of No One
“Property Of No One”
Abz K (Syncrometal)
Self-released
I have been following Abz K (Syncromental) for some time now. It’s a talented singer and musician with more attitude than most bands and artists today can come up with during their whole career. I was thrilled to get to review the great album. The album has 12 tracks and are a rock/sleaze/hard rock album with a lot of attitude and other influences.
Abz K describes the album as “After the breakup of her relationship, Abz K drew from her experience and poured her emotions into her debut album entitled Property of No One. Written from the heart, her songs share the devastation of being dumped, rocked up with the subsequent recovery and new found confidence to write music.”. I see a lot of emotions and stories in this album. Here is my review of “Property Of No One”
Lackadaisical
Well, my first listen to this CD was at my studio in my studio headphones. I instantly felt that this needed more volume, so I routed the audio into my main speakers and pumped the volume. The track starts strong with a solid guitar riff and a good build-up with drums and bass. A good old-school sound with a touch of what you would hear in the background of a gas station sets the mood at once. The overall sleazy rock vibe is very strong and builds up to the verse where the cheeky vocals enter. The attitude of the track is great. A good and simple rock track which is carried by the vocal performance. The music is easy and predictable and no surprises, just well performed. The vocals on the other hand are something unique. And the lyrics are very good! I find myself humming along and wanting more
Morbid Curiosity
I didn’t know what to expect but the strange slightly out of tune guitar hitting you from the beginning of this track makes you wonder where this track will take you. The vocals soon enters and here we have some spoken words, which works really well for the music. Chorus is very catchy and is the high point of the track. I listened many times to this track but there is something in this track that not really fits the vocals. I would have wanted more dynamics and complexity. The vocals deserved more. The guitars are very repetitive and easy to predict and could have added more spice to this track. This track wont make my playlist and I move on to the next one.
Toxic Logic
Heavy striking and a lot of attitude jumps at you from the start. It’s a bit of old school Roxette but with more attitude. The music and vocals fit really well together and this track would fit anywhere. I feel the strength of the band working together to a stellar performance. With interesting hooks and a very good rhythm section you get a spicy track that would work both on the small club and in the big arena. The full blown, unmatched vocals makes the track interesting, and the phrase Toxic Logic is tattooed into your mind. Stellar performance and my favorite so far! Let’s move on
Flowers For My Birthday
Groovy with touch of blues and strong drums drives the track from the start. As with many of the tracks the choruses are really catchy and its easy to hum along with the melodies. In this track we have a tempo and vibe change when we comes to the chorus. It adds another dimension to the song and the changes makes it feel more modern but without loosing the great old-school attitude that flows like a red thread through the whole album. A cool thing with this track is the ending, I really love the attitude and delivery of the final spoken phrase. A good and solid track that fit really well when you are working out, will add this one for my workout playlist!
My Better Half Was Me
I love the intro on this one. Very good and catchy. You get the full experience of the rock vibe right in your face. The verse takes the song to a little more energetic but softer part, making it easier to really follow the story of the song. However I am missing the catchy melodic choruses that I expected so this was something new. Its not bad, it just differs from the other songs. The great vocals really show you how a strong singer can handle different kind of music and still delver such a strong vocal performance. I see this as “driving music” to have on your car stereo while driving through the night. A overall good track with really interesting vocals.
I´m A Badass (WAGA)
I´m a badass with a great ass! Well, it say it all. This is one of my favorites on the album. Full blown rock/sleaze attitude with a touch of everything. A perfect harmony between the rock organ and the vocals and a pumping bass line builds this furious track and makes you dance wherever you are and whatever you are doing. The song structure is well crafted and the different parts fits well together. Its very catchy and easy to remember and you will remember this one for several days after you listened to it. But you will need to hear it again and again, its like a drug that you need more of. And I li-li-li-like it.
It’s Insatiable Love
We move on to this 80ths inspired track with a good guitar performance as intro. A groovy nice track with good chord progressions and as usual a solid vocal performance. I like the how the repetitive pattern builds against the vocals and by using simple methods the track really takes off. This is one of the best musical performances if you exclude the vocals. The vocals are a little laid-back in this one, but it fit the style of the song. Its like listening to a radio announcer wo can sing and tell a story at the same time! The drums and bass are right tight on the track and makes the groove something extra and the guitar licks and riffs are exactly right for the song.
I’m Your Kryptonite!
The characteristic sound of the band really gets to me in this song, with good effects and a good crated soundscape the attitude and drive of the vocals gets all the help she needs to deliver a full blown modern blues rock banger. I like the arrangement and the sound effects sets the mood and makes it even more interesting to get into. I feel that this song could have been in any movie or tv-series, I see it playing during the credits of a big Hollywood production and people would stay, not to read the credits because those are boring but to hear the great song that hey have waited the whole movie to hear.
Sleeping With The Enemy
I was intrigued by the title so I had a bit of preconceptions on how I thought this track would sound. At first I thought to myself that, yeah I was right, but then something happens in this track. It has a bit of a different mood and the vocals changes a bit again. There is so many faces to this song. It’s a bit hard to place it but it will really get you wanting to hear it again. The track has a really heavy underlaying vibe to it and I would have loved to have a little touch of heavy metal added to this track to lift it even more. A favorite part is the breakdown of the song where the vocals first are distorted and moves into clear vocals. The track feels modern, easy to listen to and a good production.
Don’t Ask Me
The overall vibe of the track is very smooth rock, I like the synths and composition and its production. It has a groove which would fit the rock club scene very well. The bass are very high mixed in the track but it fits the overall sound of the song. This also has as a couple of other tracks a scenic/movie feel to it. I like the melodic guitar parts which in a very tasteful way adds to the song’s impression on the listener. I am missing a drop or a more distinct bridge on this one, instead the song has very clear parts that is very easy to spot. The music doesn’t build between the parts it just puts in another gear. The song is solid and a good easy listening.
Self Preservation
A rock/pop track with a lot of potential. The vocals kicks in right from the start and the almost pop/storytelling vibe could be one of the most well produced tracks on the album. The song itself is very good to listen to, it doesn’t have the strongest choruses or melodies, but it makes up for it with a solid production and quality. I would love to have had a tempo change as we have seen on earlier tracks as Flowers For My Birthday. The attitude of the voice is great, but would have needed a perhaps somewhat more challenging instrumentation to really go all the way as a smash hit! I really like the hand claps in this one. I found myself clapping along.
Fell In Love At A Festival (Live)
I love the live performance. This kind of music is best experienced live. And with the amazing talent of Abz K you will get not only a show you will get an experience of a lifetime. Challenging each and every act on the live scene today Abz K with her voice and personality can knock you down, walk right over you and you would find that you actually enjoyed it! The song itself are full of energy, attitude and all the elements you need to really rock any venue. I would love to have a whole show recorded with Abz K, and if it were at a festival I would sure be falling in love with the music over and over again.
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Overall, I rate the album 9/10. There is only two things keeping me from giving it a higher grade. One is that I would have liked some better music performance to back up the stellar vocals in some part and Two I would have loved to see her try a little more heavy material.
I am recommending each and everyone of the rock scene to pick up a copy and support this fantastic artist!
Check out
Best track
“I’m A Badass (WAGA)”
Skip
“Morbid Curiosity”
