Artist: FAIR WARNING
Album: SUNDANCER (CD)

Release date: 2013
Media type: CD

There are very few rock groups worldwide whose musical substance and personnel structure has been as stable over the past two and a half decades as that of Fair Warning. The German rock act has released studio and live albums at regular intervals since 1991 without ever manifesting any significant weaknesses. So you’d better mark 27 May 2013 (Germany: 24 May 2013, US/Canada: 21 May 2013) in your diary, because that’s the scheduled release day of Sundancer, the eleventh offering by the band which continues to consist in the 23rd year of its existence of founder members Tommy Heart (vocals), Helge Engelke (guitar), Ule Ritgen (bass) and CC Behrens (drums). Like Fair Warning’s previous releases, the new album is a prime example of melodiousness, vitality, complexity and confidence. As usual Sundancer was produced by Fair Warning themselves. “Even if our music can still be classed as melodic rock, the new songs nevertheless document a broader stylistic range than our previous releases,” explains bassist Ule Ritgen, adding, “We make a point of avoiding any particular stylistic agenda, we’re open to influences from all directions. After all, it doesn’t matter what inspires an idea, it’ll always end up a typical Fair Warning song.”

At the same time, Fair Warning 2013 continue to inspire their fans, apparently without effort: while for example ‘Keep It In The Dark’ and ‘Hit And Run’ with their powerful guitar riffs present a decidedly rock-oriented band, ‘Touch My Soul’ and ‘Send Me A Dream’ sees Fair Warning broaden their stylistic horizon. “As a songwriter, you have to surprise yourself to avoid getting to a point where you start to repeat yourself,” Ritgen explains. “To achieve this, you’ve got to touch layers within yourself that you haven’t really explored yet.” Generally, Sundancer lives off the fact that the two main composers Ritgen and Engelke follow different concepts in their work, complementing each other perfectly in the process. And, for the first time in Fair Warning’s history, several tracks on Sundancer were composed by the whole band together. Ritgen: “This approach was new to us and it was certainly accompanied by one or two doubts, because you never know if something like that is going to work out. But to our own surprise we had an incredible amount of fun, resulting in the three excellent songs ґJealous Heart`, ґHow Does It Feel` und ґReal Love`”.

The result consists of 15 new songs, and as always Fair Warning have covered a wide range. It’s important to this band to tell stories and create atmospheres:  “It may seem a little old-fashioned, but it’s part of Fair Warning, just like our uncompromising, deeply melodic orientation. Both the album title and the sleeve artwork Sundancer are a deliberate nod to Rainmaker, the successful album of 1995 which gave Fair Warning their international breakthrough. Now as then, the new songs and the record’s artwork reflect modern life in an increasingly virtual world where we find ourselves wondering how real our own lives actually are,” explains Ritgen.

Very real, by contrast, is the special magic that this band projects. Whether in their native country Germany or in Japan, where Fair Warning have been celebrated as superstars since the early nineties – the band’s typical trademarks are valued everywhere. Sundancer will be no exception, particularly since this album relies on the visual language that Fair Warning have frequently used. A remarkable recording in every respect!

TRACKLIST:

1. TROUBLED LOVE
2. KEEP IT IN THE DARK
3. REAL LOVE
4. HIT AND RUN
5. MAN IN THE MIRROR
6. NATURAL HIGH
7. JEALOUS HEART
8. TOUCH MY SOUL
9. SEND ME A DREAM
10. PRIDE
11. GET REAL
12. HOW DOES IT FEEL
13. LIVING ON THE STREETS
14. COOL

LINE-UP:

Tommy Heart – vocals
Helge Engelke – guitars
Ule W. Ritgen – bass
C.C. Behrens - drums