Swedish band DIRTY PASSION was formed back in 2006, and through nine active years with plenty of live shows in their home nation and around Europe, as well as three well received studio albums, they appear to have developed into a fairly beloved band prior to taking a hiatus at the end of 2015. The self-titled album “Dirty Passion” dates back to the start of 2015, and was released through Swedish label Transubstans Records sub-label Denomination Records.
I guess that the sound explored by this band on this album is closest in style to what I see described as sleaze rock, which is basically a variety of glam metal or hair pop that have been flavored with the intensity of punk rock. Easygoing, catchy and elegant hard rock if you, without any pretensions of sophistication or moments that comes across as challenging to the listener.
Dirty Passion are good at that style, as exemplified by the opening five cuts on this CD and later on a couple of additional tracks as well. The guitar riffs are firm and solid, the rhythm backbone steady, the bass is booming and the vocals clear and powerful. This is vibrant, tight good mood party rock and roll, the kind of music that will always find it’s way to the CD player at a party where the guests like to rock. Singalong chorus sections and cuts with anthem-oriented qualities is a staple throughout, and there’s a jubilant good natured mood about it all.
This CD slips a bit midways though, when the band decides to throw in a few lesser intensity tracks with more of a standard hair metal sound to them, as well as the gentler Bon Jovi meets Bryan Adams style hard rock explored on 42 Nights. The album picks up again on a couple of more tracks though, and concluding piece Shame does a nice job of combining elements from both sets of compositions, in this case with more of a hair metal verse section combined with a more vibrant, sleaze rock style chorus. Not that I find there’s a whole lot of difference between these two subsets of hard rock in truth, to my ears the differences mainly revolve around intensity.
If sleaze rock is a description that gives meaning in a positive manner for you or if you’re just looking for an album to bring along to the next party, Dirty Passion’s third and so far final albums comes across as a good choice to bring along. Good mood, vibrant hard rock with a strong singalong factor and plenty of generally compelling details is the name of the game her. A sure fire party and good time album in other words, and one that merits a check by those who find such productions to be of general interest.
My rating: 73/100
