REVIEW: Mike Peters, Rise (Velvel)
- Rey Roldan
As a dedicated diehard fan and follower of the Alarm, I've lived for every song Mike Peters wrote, every live appearance he's done, and supported nearly every album he's released (although 1996's Feel Free left a lot of be desired). Rise finds Peters updating his sound to mixed results. "White Noise" compares quite favorably against The Alarm's best anthems, though the 'space noir' keyboard effects go overboard. Issue-centric and confrontational, Peters sings 'The creeds and the colours are out on the street/ A strange kind of glory exists we are what we eat/ a diet of violence and crime feed our screens every night.' The Beatle-esque "Trancendental" tackles a cheesy organ riff and incorporates it into an essentially cheesy lovesong. But as he's proven in classic Alarm songs such as "Spirit of 76" and "Rain in the Summertime", he can turn even the most trite phrases into honest words of endearment (witness 'all I have to offer you is everything in me' and 'I would paint the sky a purple shade/ Dye the blue sea black/ Spray the clouds in tangerine/ make the trees electric blue for you, all for you').
Fortunately, Peters has learned from his past mistakes and kept things low-key and restrained (for the sake of keeping this a positive review, the horrid bonus tracks "The Message [The Mess Age Mix]" and "White Noise [Part III] [Snakebite Mix]" should be avoided at ALL costs - the former is an irritating beatbox rap cover from his last album and the second is a sad attempt of M People-style electro-house). His distinctively limited vocal range is best suited for ballads and anthemic rockers which this record is rife with. Gone are his experiments in rap. Gone are his grunge posturing. And gone is my wish for him to return to form. Welcome back, Mike. We missed ya!
