I first heard Harem Scarem back in 2013 with their Mood Swings II release, a re-record of their second, and many would say best album Mood Swings. I was blown away and have spent the last 7 years continuing to be blown away by each Harem Scarem album that I've checked out. If you've never heard them, think Journey, Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, and Foreigner with Van Halen-level guitar solos. How one band could be this talented and write so many certifiable hits without being a household name is really difficult for me to fathom.
Over the years, my now 11yo daughter has come along with me on this journey through the band's back catalog and is maybe an even bigger fan than I am. She once told me, “You know, Dad… I really like The Darkness and The Wildhearts, but I'd have to say Harem Scarem are my favorite rock band. I just like they way they make me feel.” I don't think I could sum it up any better than that. This band has a special place in my heart for so many reasons now, not just because of the killer riffs and Harry's incredible voice, but because of this bond my daughter and I share over them. So when Harem Scarem comes out with a new album, there's only way to do it justice: a full-on track-by-track review!
This is a fine song to kick the album off. It's perhaps a bit vanilla, but it doesn't make me mad. It's got a nice chugging riff, a pleasant melody in the lead, and a memorable (if somewhat predictable) chorus. I could totally hear this song playing during the opening ceremonies of the Olympics as they cut to commercial. People in the parade of nations waving their flags. Everybody in the crowd holding hands and feeling great. As a tone-setter and mission statement, it's fine. 6.5/10
Now we're talking! From the opening riff, you can tell this one's going to be a banger. There's a sadness to the melody that hits right from the start, and when Harry's vocals kick in? Forget about it. He sounds fantastic! And man, the chorus on this song is the stuff Foreigner would pay good money to own. The guitar solo around the 1:52 mark is classic Pete Lesperance. Just stunning, and he rips it out like it's no biggie. 9.8/10
This one kicks off with a skippy little rhythm juxtaposed with a dash of chug. It's a little less immediate than ‘Aftershock’, but wait for that chorus. Sweet baby Jesus, Journey wishes they still had choruses this big! And that mix of skip and chug in the riffs makes perfect sense coming out of the chorus. Another quietly astonishing solo around the 2:20 mark. Pete's solos fit so perfectly into the music and serve the songs so well that you barely even register that your jaw is on the floor. Tough to pick a favorite song on this album, but ‘Searching for Meaning’ is a contender for sure. 9.8/10
This one takes it's time to build, but man it pays off. This was the first single off of the album and it's obvious why the band chose it. It's a formulaic Harem Scarem track in the best sense, because the thing with Harem Scarem's formula is that they take your expectations for a standard AOR tune, turn the hooks up to 10 and then zig right when you expect them to zag. There's a fantastic push and pull of dynamics leading from the pre-chorus into the chorus, and Harry's cadence here really makes this song. The stutter-step way he delivers the lines “No, not this time in,” and “Under the push-i-ing” is clever and a perfect example of how Harem Scarem can simultaneously sound like every radio rock band you loved back in the 80's and yet still have a sound all their own. Killer solo too, of course. 10/10
Things slow down a bit for this one, with an intro that sounds like something that would fit right in on the band's prog-rock classic Voice of Reason (a controversial album in some circles, but a favorite in our house). This song has a lot going for it, but something about the chorus doesn't sit right with me. Maybe the lyrics are a little too sentimental for my tastes. It's a fine line between heart-felt and saccharine, and this one falls just on the too-sweet side for me. That said, my daughter loves this song, and will probably roll her eyes and say, “DAD! How could you!!??!” if she ever reads this. I will say, I wake up with this song stuck in my head more often than I'd expect. There are some Harem Scarem songs that take years for me to catch up with, and this feels like it could be one of those. 7.5/10
One day I'll get around to reviewing Harem Scarem's entire discography. Until then here's a spoiler alert: I wasn't a huge fan of the band's 2017 album United. Though it was quality Harem Scarem through and through, It had a little too much of a Rascal Flatts country pop influence to it for my tastes. 'No Man's Land' sounds like a United cut to me. It is undeniably a good song, with a downright gnarly riff kicking it off and a very catchy chorus. I know a lot of people down in Posey County Indiana (where I grew up) who would love to listen to this after a hard day of muddin' in their chevy trucks. I'm on board right up until that chorus, which just isn't for me. 6/10
I like the totally 80's Corey Hart vibe this one starts off with. Still a little Rascal Flatts hanging around in the chorus here, but I do like the post-chorus where they're singing, “Here in the unknown…”. Hard not to tap your foot to this one, but it doesn't do much more than that for me. 6.5/10
Third track in a row where I'm being haunted by Rascal Flatts. This song is downright honky tonk, in both the vocal harmonies and the guitar flourishes. I admire the craftsmanship, and I don't think Pete Lesperance could write a bad riff if his life were on the line. It also has a super tasty little breakdown at the 2:45 mark going for it (followed by an excellent guitar solo, but that goes without saying at this point). Good song, but it's not going to make my Harem Scarem Super Mix Tape (currently over four hours long). 6.8/10
Time for the power ballad, and I've got no problem with that. ‘This Ain’t Over', ‘Understand You’, ‘If There Was a Time’... all killer Harem Scarem power ballads that I get a little misty just thinking about. This one…well, Michael Bolton could fill an arena with this chorus, and I'm not saying that to shit on Michael Bolton or this song. That man's music has brought a lot of joy to my dear mother, and I imagine she would enjoy this track if she actually put any stock in my music recommendations. The songcraft and the vocal performance here is undeniable, but it lacks that little bit of magic to make it an essential Harem Scarem song for me. 6.8/10
Man, if you don't like the riff that starts off this song, then you hate riffs. The rhythm section's got a great stomp to it, the solo around the 2:30 mark is ripping, and the song is a flat-out fun listen. BUT… the lyrics are… they're fine. I realize the use of “danger” clichés was a stylistic choice, but it doesn't do enough to elevate the song past killer filler for me. I'll never turn it off when it comes on, but it won't make my mix tape. This could be another one that grows on me with time. 7/10
This is a good song with a bit of a Bon Jovi feel to it (I like Bon Jovi). I tend to forget about it when I think of the album, until it comes on and I remember, “Oh yeah, I like this one!” The chorus is fun to sing along with, and it's got some nice lead work in the last third. It doesn't light my world on fire, but it's a fine track to end on and it ties the album up nicely. 7/10
So that's my take on Harem Scarem's Change The World. If I'm keeping it 100% real, I wish there was another epic banger on the second half of the album that lived up to that Power Three in the first half. But I think the album is better than the sum of its parts, and those parts are pretty damn good even when they don't match my particular tastes in music. I highly recommend checking this album out, as I do all Harem Scarem albums.
15 albums in, Harem Scarem are still writing the kind of hits that, in a better world, we'd all be hearing on the radio every day.
