All Hours
In Flagrante Delicto

(Hybrid)

First Appeared in The Music Box, March 2005, Volume 12, #3

Written by John Metzger

Leave it to an ensemble from Hollywood to take a stab at reviving the early ’70s glam movement, and truth be told, All Hours’ full-length debut In Flagrante Delicto nearly succeeds in stripping away the 33 years that have passed since Lou Reed’s Transformer, David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust, T. Rex’s Electric Warrior, and Mott the Hoople’s All the Young Dudes momentarily reshaped the music business. Vacillating between melancholy-laden, acoustic folk and crunchy, guitar-driven rock, All Hours delivers an authentic set that is stuffed full of indelible melodies, and in doing so, it suitably finds its groove within the flamboyant theatrics of the past. The problem, however, is that for those already familiar with the classic fare from which the band drew its inspiration, much of In Flagrante Delicto feels like an retread, and occasionally, it’s an inferior one at that. Indeed, when the group misses its mark — as it does on the whispered hush and bullhorn echo of Ya Talkin’ to Me, the lethargic Hurricane, and the delicately dull Gray — it fails miserably, and making matters worse, its lyrics seriously lack the poetic quality of its heroes’ endeavors. Yet, almost in spite of these flaws, In Flagrante Delicto proves to be a stirring beginning for what very well might yield a promising career, simply because the majority of All Hours’ songs effortlessly mutate into irresistible anthems.

In Flagrante Delicto is available
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Ratings

1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

Copyright © 2005 The Music Box