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Non-Prog CD Reviews

Make Believe Friends

Make Believe Friends

Review by Gary Hill

What an intriguing outfit this is. It’s a combination of two bands. One of those is Lunden Reign, who is a metal band I previously reviewed for MSJ. The other is a Blondie tribute band called “Heart of Blonde.” Here they have given as an album packed full of cool hard rocking originals and one cover (Blondie’s “Rapture”) Missing Persons’ Dale Bozzio guests on one piece. I think this album is so strong. It just has a great blend of sounds and killer performances.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2025  Volume 4. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2025.
Track by Track Review
Intentions

This is a classy pop rock tune. It has a lot of style and vintage charm. It’s really classic in sound. The hooks are a great and everything about this works so well.

Haunt Me

As strong as the opener was, this is even better. It has a dynamic arrangement. It gets pretty metallic. It’s also powerful. This is definitely a highlight of the set.

Scream

The bass plays a big part in this number. It is another hard rocking tune with some classic textures and changes. It also has some decidedly metal moments built into it.

Rapture

This cover of the Blondie hit is so cool. They bring some metal edges to the track, but also capture the magic of the original. This is another highlight here.

Somewhere There Forever ft Dale Bozzio

There is a retro keyboard sound as this gets underway. You can’t miss Dale Bozzio’s vocals on this. The whole tune has so much charm and class. It’s metallic, but more just hard rocking in general. There are some hints of space rock at times, too.

The Truth

Another driving rocker is on the menu here. It’s not a big change, but it’s effective.

Thank the Academy

This is intriguing. It has some Beatles-like hooks and sounds. Yet, it’s also quite metallic. This is a real driving rocker packed with both retro and modern elements.

Follow Me to the Sun

Piano starts this. The vocals come over the top, This is basically a power ballad with some great pop rock angles at play.

An Act of Love

Here we have another cut that land on the ballad end of the pectrum. It’s another clasy piece of music, too.

 
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