Al Stone - Boundaries (2023)

It seems to be a good time for female rock musicians again. While I recently had the new album by the famous Laura Cox on my plate, Al Stone from Giessen is now pushing her second work “Boundaries” to the people. The follow-up to the debut release “Dark Country,” which was highly praised in the underground, once again offers a healthy mix of classic rock and country, refined by the lady’s partly roughened voice. As the CD title suggests, Al Stone doesn't cross boundaries as much. Rather, she relies on anthemic, sometimes quite quiet songs that are easy to consume, but also captivate the listener with a lot of soul. Any oh-oh-oh choirs and relaxed singing at the beginning of the opener “The River” ensure a cozy warmth. As is typical of Al Stone's music, the number becomes more rocky as it progresses and also more intense thanks to the polyphonic chorus.

Many of the tracks are structured like this and shine with alternating quieter and more dynamic parts. Quite playful on the guitar and sometimes keyboards, pieces like “Stitches” and “Damn Heart” show the retained youthful freshness of Alina (the girl's actual name). The latter with a beautifully melodic chorus, organ support and even a somewhat fiddly guitar solo. More in the area of country rock, “Uninvited” relies on slide guitars, increasingly building tempo and ballad-like moments and thus US-American sounds. As a pure-bred street rocker in singer/songwriter mode, “Those Days” holds its own. From here on, however, Al Stone drifts a little too often into quieter passages. Piano and symphonic backings make you sit up and take notice in “Leave The Light On”, while the slow and somewhat melancholic acoustic track “Phony” provides more contemplative moments.

With “Wild Child” there are harder guitar hits and even a few screams again, at least halfway through the song. The title song “Boundaries” once again takes a very calm, contemplative approach. The final tune “Through The Haze” also begins very quietly with acoustic guitars, and as the chorus progresses it becomes a rocking groover. Definitely a worthy expulsion from a wonderful album by this rock lady that should definitely be given more attention. “Boundaries” easily maintains the level of its predecessor, and the numbers also come across as more harmonious and mature.

The fact that Al Stone also plays music in high quality on this album was to be expected after “Dark Country”. Maybe the faster or harder passages could have been given a little more space. So the intensity drops off a little towards the end of the album. Nevertheless, Al Stone's new album is again an absolute gourmet bite for people who like classic rock combined with country styles and a good female voice.~Erich Robbers