Apollo - This Is My Town
It has been a while since rock has sounded so pure and original as it does when played by the five men that make up Apollo. It has a way of taking subtle melodies and strong vocals and creating some of the most ambitious and thriving songs around today, like in the Bon Jovi hay days.
The album begins with the title track and first single to be released. The one thing that really stands out for this song, and a number of others are the hard-hitting choruses the songs tend to have. This also applies for ‘Forget It’ with its bight and open guitar melody and the powerful chorus of ‘(You Are Going) Down With Me’ where you have an power urging to sing along. This song has some strong matured vocals and subtle harmonies, which while building up to the chorus of ‘Peaks and Troughs’ become emotional and slightly sorrow driven.
A great factor that I feel applies with this release is the way vocals and music is never overpowered by each other. The music created by this album flows incredibly gentle, is of an upbeat mellow style and the band never attempt hardcore or even anything that they know is too powerful for them. The short and sweet ‘Last Time’ has a very stand out instrumental; ‘Carry Me Now’ is a full-blown rock tune with the use of electric guitar gaining intensity, likewise ‘The Real Thing’ has an electric centre where guitar shines as one of the albums brightest moments.
Apollo has created an emotion tale with this release; ‘21g’ is quite deep, ‘Lay Dormant’ is very emotional and ‘Deus Ex Machine’ opens on melancholy that makes your heart ache; it is simplicity at its most successful. Apollo is band with a big sound that will make a big impression, especially on a big scale and a big stage.