Hello, hello! BossaNova here again with another music review. This time around, we’ve got From Adam On Down’s latest record Forbidden Fruit!

Now, I’ve got three words for this album: Busy, busy, busy. Not in a bad way, either. This album is laden with walls of flair; every single one of these guys has chops fo’ dayz. Layers and layers of fills and arpeggios and harmonies robotically welded together and kept in a tight, tight, tight package. And while it is a very well put together album, I think that the sheer number of musical ideas put into these tracks is a weakness at some points.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love this album. These guys have potential to bring straight up face melting back to the world of Pop, and I could so get down with some of that. But the thing holding them back right now is a miscommunication of the spotlight, to put it short. They are all very talented musicians and are ready to show off at the drop of a hat, but don’t give the song time for anyone to really nail it before they move on to the next idea. Sure, there’s guitar solos, shout choruses and stuff like that but none of them really stay long enough to be the cornerstone of the song. And that means most of it is forgettable, sadly.

These guys are just filled to the brim with energy and ideas, though. Like, to the point where they get in the way of each other sometimes. In the 2nd track of the album, specifically, the hook is a MASSIVE, simple, almost genius hook in the vocals. The rest of the band’s holding a chord and rhythm to support it, but the guitarist decided to work it into an arpeggio that, while it fits technically, takes away from the massive, simple rhythm that is and should be front and center. You’ll know what I’m talking about when you hear it.

That’s nitpicky, though. The rest of the ideas on display here are nothing less than great. I’m not a fan of mixing keyboards and metal, normally, but these guys work it into a good, clean, poppy mix with just enough meat and riffage to make it feel good. Now, they just need to take it to the next level and get to work on some Metallica-esque 6-minute songs and let the world know exactly how badass Japan can be.

I give this album a solid 8 out of 10. It’s got a few things that could be done better, and maybe it’s not their fault, but I’m very much looking forward to where these guys go from here. I’ll be keeping my eye on them.

So, what did you think? Did this album just have too much? Too little? Just right? Feel free to let me know, and I’ll be back in two weeks with another hot and fresh music review!