One of pop-rock's best kept secrets, Finnish duo The Impersonators (Tom Tikka and Antti Autio) return with their first full length debut album 'Life Of Grant' and it is a fine release, full of pop, rock and alternative gems. Taking their cues from 60s giants such as The Byrds and The Beach Boys, 'Life Of Grant' is full of 'summery' vibes, even if sometimes the lyrics hint at a deep melancholy.
The opening track 'Rodeo' is a confident, assured opener with its distinctive vocal intro and impossibly catchy chorus and leads into an album with fantastic songwriting and production touches (courtesy of Janne Saksa). Keyboards dart in and out to emphasise certain passages (as on 'When You Are Young'), strings are very much in evidence, adding a rich tone to a number of tracks and flecks of brass pepper the album effectively, such as on another stand-out track 'Scarlett Hell'. This isn't a guitar album by any stretch of the imagination, but when they are to the fore they glisten and sparkle as on the Rickenbacker intro to 'Circus' and the guitar solo on 'Effigy'. And pretty much every song has an instinctively memorable chorus - check out the Motownesque variant on 'Broken Snow' as just one example, or the chant-along chorus on 'Cloud Nine'.
As an exercise in pure craftmanship and songwriting 'par excellence' this album can't be faulted and for anybody who is a fan of high quality pop with great lyrics, varied instrumentation and classy production would do well to check 'Life Of Grant' out. The Impersonators deserve to lose their 'best kept secret' status - this album is a fine step towards doing just that!
'Life Of Grant' is out now and available on all the major digital sites. An official video for 'Scarlett Hell' is released on Friday - 9th April.
The Impersonators are nominated in the 'Best Rock Band' category at the International Singer-Songwriters Awards being held on the 7th August 2021, with Tom Tikka nominated in another seven categories.