Harsh – Feels
Harsh – Feels
Fireflash Records
Release Date: 03/07/26
Review by Beth Morait
9/10
There is nothing better to cheer up a Monday morning than a good bit of no-nonsense, high-octane Hard Rock. Luckily for me, that’s exactly what Harsh deliver. These French Rockers have the look, and their press release talks a good talk, so can they walk the walk? Well, in short, yes, they can, with bells on.
Considering this is only their sophomore full-length release, they have a sound that is mature beyond their relative infancy as a band. However, it has been 4 years since their debut album, and in that time they’ve played a huge number of live shows. If there’s one sure-fire way of really gelling, it’s by playing live so many times that you all know everyone else’s next move before they do, and you develop a collective performance brain. That is absolutely the feel I’m getting from “Feels” (no pun intended)!
Opening with ‘Break Your Way’, Harsh instantly set the tone and pace for the album. It’s got that real Classic Hard Rock feel that wouldn’t have been out of place in the 80s, but with Modern twists that make it current. Starting with a solitary guitar cycling through chords, a marching drum beat joins, before a brief slowdown that launches us into the song proper – a down and dirty Rock number that makes you pull the “Ooh yeah that hits the groove” face. Great bluesy riffs, grubby verse vocals, soaring chorus vocals, and a rock-steady rhythm. A great solo appears in the middle too, showing off the guitarist’s ability to emulate a bit of 80s shredding!
‘Fuel to the Fire’ is an absolute hard rock banger – perfect driving song – it’s aggressive, pacey, and has a great riff. It’s just pure Classic Rock, done really, really well. There’s a great cover of the Michael Sembello ’80s classic ‘Maniac’ (from the soundtrack for “Flashdance”, which is, without question, one of the greatest films of the ’80s, and I will not argue that point; my mind will never be changed). As I’ve said before, I’m not a fan of covers, but this is another occasion where I have to stand up and say, ‘Ok, this one is good’. Heavier than the original, with an awesome indulgent solo in the middle – two thumbs up from me!
There are a couple of more ballad-like tracks on the album too (because what Hard Rock album would be complete without a couple of slushy numbers for the hopeless romantics, eh?!), the most notable of which is the penultimate track ‘Never Gonna See Me Fall’. It’s not completely a ballad, just a little more schmaltzy than the rest, and it starts out acoustically. We really get treated to some impressive vocal pipes here, with a soaring chorus. It’s kind of like the backing music they would have used on Neighbours back in the day as two of the characters fell in love after helping out in some crisis.
The final track is all-out 90s Bon Jovi, and I do not mind that one little bit, as I’m a huge Bon Jovi fan.
This is a very good album. Is it cheesy? Yes. Is it cliched? Also yes. But it’s true to the genre, and one that I will listen to many times, because it’s just really easy to listen to.
TRACKLISTING:
01. Break Your Way
02. All I Ever Wanted
03. Fuel To The Fire
04. Offer You A Rome
05. Don’t Mess With Me
06. Forever Yesterday
07. Back To Life
08. Maniac
09. Losing My Mind
10. Dancing Dancing
11. Never Gonna See Me Fall
12. When We´re Together
LINKS:
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