AUDREY HORNE - Le Fol
Audrey Horne, named after a character from Twin Peaks, are a band from Bergen in Norway that just released their second CD Le Fol. It seems that they are rather unfamiliar with French grammar, but fortunately their lyrics are in English. Their debut No Hay Banda earned a Grammy in their native country, so that they try now to conquer Europe with their new album.
It’s often easier to win at home than on foreign grounds, and I have to admit that I wasn’t convinced by Audrey Horne, whose music is neither fish nor fowl. They are inspired by the sound of the early Nineties, and play a mix between hard rock, indie and grunge, as was fashionable fifteen to twenty years ago. I used to be a big fan of that genre, but am disappointed that the Norwegians are performing a stylistic zigzag, lacking eventually direction. Their hard rocking material reminds of King’s X, Deep Purple and Aerosmith. When they start revelling in grunge, they sound like Alice In Chains, especially in the vocal department. But worst are their mellower tracks which would have been dismissed as mainstream rock two decades ago. The only more modern songs are the opener Last Chance For A Serenade where the band seems to have inspired themselves strongly by Devin Townsend, and the gothic sounding Hell Hath No Fury.
The biggest problem of Le Fol is that Audrey Horne haven’t found an own identity yet. They are borrowing left and right, and try to hide that fact with a successful production. In the end, they fail due to a lack of vigour. Audrey Horne are ok for two or three songs, but then you yearn for something more substantial. This very likely highly motivated but unfortunately not yet optimally running band still needs to work hard on themselves.