China – Light Up The Dark

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Light Up The Dark marks the first release for China since they recently reunited, and fifth overall. Having enjoyed some mild success in the late ’80s and early ’90s, the Swiss rockers fell by the wayside by the late ’90s, having struggled to keep a lead singer for long enough to establish a consistent sound. With their comeback album they’ve reunited with Eric St Michaels, who brings a smooth, classic rock vocal style to the record. Whilst some of the band’s early stuff is rather ghastly and very reminiscent of the glam-metal wave of the 80s, the band progressed to have a more mature sound and that’s exactly where Light Up The Dark picks up from. The band on this album sits very well alongside some of the UK rock acts doing the rounds in the early ’90s, such as Gun, Little Angels and Thunder. There’s a real lack of bands that really capture that somewhat nostalgic sound and China seem to have managed to catch that feeling very well on this record. Particular highlights include good-time rockers Girl On My Screen and Hey Yo, acoustic guitar driven On My Way, and stand out anthem She’s So Hot, sounding not all that far from Gun’s Money (Everybody Loves Her). Whilst some older fans will no doubt be shouting for the band to return to their original roots, frankly this sound suits them much better and the consistently strong rock melodies are evidence that this is the right sound for the band. A pretty solid effort, whether taken as a comeback record or simply as a new record by a decent rock band.

Written by James Donovan
More: 2011, Albums, Hard Rock, Quick.Play Reviews, China