The new Harem Scarem record is called ‘Hope’, but for the fans of this very talented Canadian melodic rock band there is no hope anymore. In fact this records will be the very last one that will be released of Harem Scarem because the main tandem Harry Hess/Pete Lesperance have decided to stop the band activities and devote their time to other things. During twenty years and eleven studio album we have been able to enjoy the great melody lines, the fine guitar work and the fantastic vocals which always characterized the song material of Harem Scarem. Highlight of their total back catalogue was of course ‘Mood Swings’, a truly magnificent record which they haven’t been able to equal anymore. Despite of that Harem Scarem was always delivering high-quality melodic rock and that certainly hasn’t changed on this last (sob, sob…) CD ‘Hope’. The record contains eleven catchy rock songs (among which an acoustic version of ‘Higher’ as a bonus track), which showcase a little bit of a darker atmosphere than their previous efforts. That doesn’t change the fact that songs like opening track ‘Watch Your Back’, title track ‘Hope’, the aggressive ‘Dark Times’ and the ballad ‘Shooting Star’ are a delight to listen to and I’m pretty sure I will be listening to them many times during the next couple of weeks. Harem Scarem has again delivered a mighty fine record with ‘Hope’.
1 Watch Your Back
2 Time Bomb
3 Hope
4 Days Are Numbered
5 Dark Times
6 Beyond Repair
7 Never Too Late
8 Shooting Star
9 Calm Before the Storm
10 Nothing Without You
11 Higher [Acoustic]
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