Shakra – Back On Track

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Only two years have passed since Shakra’s last album and in that time they’ve undertaken a substantial change of personnel following the departure of vocalist Mark Fox. Back On Track is therefore their first recording with new singer John Prakesh, and a certain air of defiance, and of looking forward rather than back, permeates the album in its title, and tracks like Stronger Than Ever, Yesterday’s Gone and Brand New Day. To all intents and purposes Prakesh sounds almost exactly like Fox, but in contrast to the last album, Everest, Shakra have tried some different things here. There’s a heavier tone to many of the songs (the title track, B True B You, MMTWGR – “money makes the world go round”), and in some cases (the excellent Crazy) something closer to the upbeat sound of late-’80s Def Leppard, or modern Scandinavian sleaze-rock bands like Hardcore Superstar or Crashdïet, but retaining the harder edge without venturing too far into radio-pop territory. There are occasional tracks which are so typical of Shakra that they could fit on just about any one of their albums (I’ll Be, ballad When I See You), so long-time fans shouldn’t feel too put out by a lack of familiarity, but on the whole this is a more confident record than Everest was; back to the vibrancy of Fall.

Written by Andy Lye
More: 2011, Albums, Hard Rock, Quick.Play Reviews, Shakra