Review - Believe - Anonymous

Believe

Communiqué Records

Have GIRLSCHOOL distanced themselves from the well-known MOTÖRHEAD like sound? When I hear some of the songs on their new album "Believe", my answer would be 'yes'. Is this a bad release then? No, of course not. GIRLSCHOOL may sound a little more mature, and sometimes a bit alternative perhaps. But of course there are some real cool rock songs on the album as well. "Come On Up" is a bit darker than the average GIRLSCHOOL stuff. "Crazy" could have been done by THE SPICE GIRLS. It's catchy, but nothing like the old GIRLSCHOOL. But with "We All Love To (Rock 'N' Roll)", they get back to the more recognisable sound of the band.

As you can see, there's a lot of variation on this CD. "New Beginning" is a real cool song, and on "C'Mon" I even hear some distorted vocals, next to the AC/DC like song structures. It might be innovating, but in my opinion GIRLSCHOOL doesn't really need all these new influences. Despite all these comments, I'd like to emphasise that I really do like their new album. Although it sounds very different than you would have expected at first. It's definitely an album that has to grow on you, and then it gets stronger and stronger every time you give it a spin.

It might have been much easier for the girls to play newer version of songs that sound like "Tonight" or "Demolition Boys", but that way their music would all sound the same, over and over again. Would you like that? Listen to a song like "Never Say Never", and turn up the sound a little bit more, every time you listen to it. It's catchy, it's rocking, and you must admit that it's just another cool rock song! No, these girls aren't dead yet and they still kick some serious ass in the hard rock and heavy metal scene. Even after more than twenty-five freaking years, there aren't many bands, who can say the same thing. GIRLSCHOOL stood tall, and they were always a (girls)school example of how a rock band should sound. "Feel Good" simply does what the title suggests and makes you 'feel good'. I hear some resemblance with the old GIRLSCHOOL classic "Race With The Devil", and I heard more people saying this. There are two bonus tracks on this CD, namely "Play Around" and "Passion". Which makes the total amount of songs rise to fifteen new rock and roll classics from the longest living all-female rock and roll divas in the whole f*cking world. Thank you Enid, thank you Denise, thank you Jax and thank you Kim for so much great rock pleasure! You can be proud of this new release, please keep on rocking and visit us soon in Holland. We "BELIEVE" in you, and we always will.