Album Review: Stenfors - "The Family Album"

 

Jan Stenfors is the real name of one time Hanoi Rocks guitarist Nasty Suicide and Family Album marks his return to the rock 'n' roll scene after a decidedly lengthy absence. To be completely honest, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect going into this but similar to his old bandmates Michael Monroe's recent I Live Too Fast To Die Young and Sami Yaffa's excellent The Innermost Journey To Your Outermost Mind last year, this album is proof that there's still plenty of the old Hanoi Rocks magic doing the round in various guises these days.

It kicks in with the bluesy strut of XStopia which has a sinister feel with its spindly riff and tale of freeing yourself from a destructive relationship. When it's followed with the low-slung boogie of Friends, you know we're in safe hands here, a feeling reinforced by the gentle Golden Ball, a lovely slice of summery acoustic-led reminiscing, not a million miles away from the Waldos' similarly-titled classic Golden Days.

Something More is a smoky blues jam, not unlike something Steve Conte might do on one of his solo albums which is no bad thing before a fired up cover of Folsom Prison Blues brings side one to a close (well, if albums still had sides these days but ya know what I mean). Side two opens with Sweet Sue which almost goes into jazz-pop crooner territory complete with some scatting vocals - not what I expected at all but it's definitely got a hook to it. Boiling My Eggs is a prime slice of Howlin' Wolf style delta blues before Chemo Brain takes us back into Johnny Cash territory with its countrified strumming and mean vocals. All of which just leaves the gentle acoustic led psychedelia of Then It's Gone and the eastern European sounding instrumental Syrenen to guide us home.

Straight up, I really enjoyed this album. Full credit to Stenfors/Nasty, with this effort he's come up with a fun, enjoyable and varied album of rock 'n' roll which takes its influences from all over the shop but bonds them together with great hooks and a sense of rock 'n' roll playfulness to make an album that's an absolute blast to listen to. Your friendly writer 'ere heartily recommends you go and investigate this 'un.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌔🌑🌑 (8/10)