RSS Feed


MISS BEHAVIOUR
Double Agent

AOR Heaven (2014)
Rating: 5.5/10

Melodic Swedish rockers Miss Behaviour are another of these sickly sweet AOR bands all too eager to sugarcoat my soul with their fancy harmonies and 80s throwbacks.

The band already have two full-length albums to their name – Heart Of Midwinter (2006) and Last Woman Standing (2011) – and are now back with third opus, Double Agent, which features the line-up of Sebastian Roos (vocals), Erik Heikne (guitar), Nicky Bloom (bass), Magnum Jacobs (drums) and Henrik Sproge (keyboards).

Now, while I’m a bit of a bitch for such gloriously flamboyant hard rock dynamics, I’m none too overawed by this act. While the band is most certainly capable of injecting elements of the heartfelt, the soulful and the uptempo, I’m less convinced by segments of this composition; I’m rarely moved by the sway of certain numbers which seem to float by without any real effect.

For all of its spine-tingling, scarf-waving anthems (‘Silver Rain’) there seems to be a glittery yet insubstantial rocker coated in cheese (‘On With The Show’), giving the impression of a band which relies too much on the flimsy rather than the forceful.

That’s not to say that it’s all bad, but with sprightly rockers such as the title track there is just an air of the polished that proves that all that glitters is not gold. The same could also be said for the sickly sweet pomp of ‘Cold Response’.

However, when the band does inject that extra ounce of oomph we have a collection of decent tracks; ‘Magical Feeling’ is a tight, upbeat rocker featuring some sterling guitar work, and the aching strains of ballad ‘Corporation Arms’ really does shed Sebastian Roos in good light as his vocal takes on a more soulful grate, but this is simply a characteristic that comes all too infrequently for my liking. The synth-driven ‘Edge Of The World’ is a superb heavy rocker, but ‘Don’t Let It End’ is a turgid bubble-gum pop rocker just way too corny for my liking as it comes complete with what seems to be such a contemporary shroud that I’m blinded by its glimmer.

‘Midnight Runner’ does, however, find a middle ground between the modern pomp and 80s-styled croon, but if I had to pick a favourite from this rather messy batch of inconsistency then I’d have to go for ‘The Cause Of Liberty’, a slow-burner of a track which is brimmed full of soul. The throbbing rhythms of ‘Dancing With Danger’ give ‘The Cause Of Liberty’ a run for its money, but even so, it’s an album that proves to be a sum of many parts and for every good turn there appears to be a dodgy corner.

I’m still yet to be convinced by Miss Behaviour, who for the most part I find extremely frustrating in their ability to become consistent. At times all too flaky, Double Agent is very much an opus that leads a double life.

Neil Arnold

<< Back to Album & EP Reviews



Related Posts via Categories
Share