Seraina Telli. The name floated about the rocksphere for a while and popped up here and there in our backyard. Mainly as an up-and-coming talented frontwoman both for metal and rock. So, here her solo band project finally hit the swampy depths of our review pipe with a colorful splash. And we can’t ignore that. The vilest creatures metal can cough up usually crawl and slither around down there. And Addicted to Color isn’t even metal. So, rock it is and that’s good. We’ve been screwing about the fetid metal underground for way too fucking long. Some light and color will be welcome. Let ‘er rip!
Metalville tried to peddle Telli‘s debut album Simple Talk in 2022 to us real hard. But it was no dice, it just didn’t talk to us. Not that the RMR reviewers didn’t find good and truly remarkable moments. I guess it was lack of meaty power and a sense of déjà-vu that killed the cat a year ago.
But lo and behold, the woman’s back with a vengeance a few months later with Addicted to Color, the dreaded sophomore piece. And now, there’s pepper in the tune and energy to spare. Some sort of powerful Heavy Rock that goes a-looking in the nooks and crannies long-standing rock tropes have on offer. A mix of Halestorm without the love drama and Van Halst with hints of the overly ferocious Meka Nism. A style that kinda harkens back to Train when these folks still had rock in their veins and didn’t yet succumb to some politically correct rosy pop bullshit bingo.
The promo dude called Telli‘s performance – and I quote – “…the ultimate ‘In-Your-Face-Rock’…”. Now, I’m not sure about the ‘ultimate’ part, louder ones have been heard before. But Seraina Telli here indeed rides this good ol’ tough-girl wave straight into the music hall. And it may very well be overdone to a point. There’s a fine balance of just enough rough resolve or it will start turning fans off.
All of the above rides in on a (way too) neatly clipped production that shuns lengthy tracks like the devil would avoid holy water. In fact, none of the tracks seriously move beyond the 4-minute mark. Yet another artist who has been told that your tracks need to be 3-minute-ish or “…rock radio won’t play you”. Addicted to Color thus sails through its troubled waters at an even-paced speed that neatly fills its still reasonable 45-minute airtime with one pretty expertly done rock piece.
In other words, the cranky asses over at the RMR review desk missed the variation some. There are no hard edges that could draw some blood. A lack of experimentation and push for that next level of viciousness. Meaning, less ideology and more sniveling red-hot rock power would kick this thing sky-high. Yet here, the record sails by on a pretty even stream of pretty standard and fairly loud rock. And some of the aforementioned déjà-vu is – to our dismay – still there.
But make no mistake, all tracks are neatly done, and well executed. And Seraina Telli‘s offering will sound absolutely great on stage. The festivals will lap up the band’s performance – and rightly so. Hot summer nights with some snazzy rock sell tons of tickets, beer, and burgers. And who knows, right? Yours truly might even turn up at one of them performances for a hot piece of rock or two.1
So, ultimately, we were torn with Addicted to Color. And this also explains the delay in coverage for this particular piece. The talent’s there, Telli‘s mighty roar can wake up the dead, and their brand of rock is fresh and red-hot with an abundance of energy to spare. But it’s all in the predictable space. You see, there’s a reason why we won’t cover Halestorm anymore. And it’s not a lack of Lzzy Hale’s musical prowess, it’s that failure to push the envelope that made us stop.
In the end, Addicted to Color is a good record that held our attention for a few exciting spins. But its lack of hooks and inherent predictability won’t let it survive for more than a few more weeks on our internal playlist. And yet, this band has got it in them to go further, much further. And I hope that they will whip it up to fury levels next time, ready to blast the RMR review desk out of their comfortable chairs.
Record Rating: 6/10 | Label: Metalville Records | Web: Official Band Site
Release Date: 25 August 2023
- Incognito, with a live review in its wake. -Ed.-↩