NOVAK – Forever Endeavour

Sometimes an incredible album surprises the market … but this is NOT one of those. Novak is a band from Sweden with only two members, Andreas Novak and Daniel Flores. After several spins of this debut album called Forever Endeavour, the feeling you get is that these songs have been played everywhere like 1000 times before. It just isn’t memorable at all.

Novak himself compares his music to bands like Genesis, Queen, Van Halen, and Def Leppard, but there is not so much truth in those comparisons. Granted, the members of Novak may show some Light Rock symptoms, but they lack the right accent and application to be comparable to all of those great rock lads, and to do so is riddled with error.

First off, they are from Sweden, and second they don’t play rough enough … in all honesty, this music is closer to Brit-Pop than Rock. Aside from a moment or two when Novak taps into the light sounds of Genesis, there is not much Rock about this band at all.

But enough about what’s not here … the tracks on this album, which was released on March 14th, sound a lot like the songs that were played on the radio stations in the early 80s. There is something Toto-ish about the songs. It is no surprise to hear that Andreas Novak has been singing backing vocals on Westlife’s CD World Of Our Own.

During the summer of 2004, Novak and Flores worked out and finished all the ideas for this album, with some help from guest musicians and co-writers. Before this album, they have put out two other albums … the last one in 2002, but then under the name Mind’s Eye. With this newest release, Novak sounds like an honest, self-taught pop band. They play well, and Novak’s voice is nice, but they lack the killer instinct that good rock bands have. Despite the need for more guts, rhythm, and structural variation, the band maximizes other contrasts within and between tracks.

Don’t be fooled, however. This is by all means a calculated morsel of pop perfectionism. All the elements are there – the catchy hooks, the “can’t get it out of my head” courses, and the image … a young man, with a cute face and the right clothes and haircut!!!! One quick look at the cover alone gives the impression that this band places themselves in a greater light than they may deserve.

With a running time of 50 minutes (12 songs) this isn’t truly a great CD, rather, it is kind of hit and miss. By the time the song “By Your Side” (track 6) comes to a close, the feeling is that the album has not gone anywhere since “How Does It Feel” (track 2), and the question is more along the lines of why it is still playing? But it is not all bad, as the songs have got some heft to them, some weight, something that might indicate longer-term ambitions for this band.

The most recommended track is “Back to the Free World,” and hopefully the band takes some more chances next time, and conjures up more of a rock attitude.

Lineup

Andreas Novak – vocals and guitar
Daniel Flores – keyboards, drums, and vocals

Guest appearances

Bass: Mathias Garnas (Xsavior), Johann Niemann (Therion), Andreas Olson (Namia), Anders Pininen (Sub 5), and Thomas Bristulf.
Guitar solos: Tommy Denander (Radioactive), Benny Janson (Tears of Anger), Kristian Niemann (Therion), Johnny Ohlin (Nation), Daniel Palmqvist (Orange Church).