Review by Anna on October 2, 2011.

Rise And Shine is a doomy 70s-style rock band from Sweden, arguably in the “American” vein. "Empty Hand" is their fourth full-length. I cannot comment on their evolution as I’m not familiar with their back catalog, but I find this particular album to be decent, or mediocre.

I might enjoy this live at a summer festival where I’m distracted by the sun and the fun, but I can’t imagine listening to this in my spare time. There wasn’t one riff nor vocal line that conjured anything more from me than a mild semi-approval. Towards the end I found I wasn’t even paying attention anymore cause I was burnt out on the sound. Everything is so “in-the-middle,” with no sensitivity in execution, surprises or risks. The music is not hopeless, but what kills it for me is really the silly vocals.

From the description I read I thought maybe I would dig the vocals, but unfortunately I think it was the worst thing about this band. Obviously Josabeth can sing, but applying vibrato on everything, in such a mechanical, thoughtless way, combined with the incompetence of her English pronunciation made everything sound wobbly and almost incompetent. It’s really hard to take seriously. From the moment I put it on I felt a slight cringe of embarrassment for the band, and for myself in case my neighbor could hear the music- a cringe that ceased only when the album was over. It reminds me of the feeling I had while watching Sweden on Eurovision.

If you like “Heavy/Psych/Doom Rock”, you may want to check this out, but don’t have your expectations too high.

Categorical Rating Breakdown

Musicianship: 6.5
Atmosphere: 6.5
Production: 8.5
Originality: 6.5
Overall: 6

Rating: 8.1 out of 10