Frontiers Music
All Access Rating: A-
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| Nelson - Peace Out 2015 |
The pop-metal wonder boys relive their glory days on the Frontiers Music release Peace Out, as Matthew and Gunner reintroduce themselves and their brand of infectiously melodic hard rock to a rather dour and depressed music world desperately in need of a mood-elevator like the catchy, spirited opener "Hello Everybody."
More injections of guitars with a sugary crunch, knockout hooks big enough to land a marlin and vocal harmonies to die for are necessary, as well, as Nelson lets the good times roll with "Back in the Day," "Invincible," "I Wanna Stay Home" and the soaring "Let It Ride" – the singalong choruses, life-affirming sentiments and sunny nostalgia made for drives up the California coast with the top down.
Nelson will never be as angry as Slayer, or as unsavory and street tough as Motley Crue. They're too wholesome for that, and Peace Out is their life-is-good manifesto, where a blissful, dreamy ballad like "On the Bright Side" can co-exist with ruggedly heavy, swaggering rockers such as "Rockstar," "Bad For You" and "You And Me." Maybe it's not a deep, highly literate exploration of the human condition. That's all right. A veritable gold rush of well-crafted, uplifting tunes for these dark days, Peace Out just might be the Nelson album you never knew you wanted.
– Peter Lindblad
