Rimbacher – High Hopes On The Rocks

Rimbacher
High Hopes On The Rocks
Label: Inverse Records
Out: November 1^st, 2024
Playing time: 40:21

The Finnish Hard Rock band is named after singer Niko Rimbacher. Presumably founded in mid-2021, Rimbacher released various singles before releasing the debut album ‘High Hopes On The Rocks’ in November 2024. Catchy AOR songs are the band’s trademark.

The opener ‘Worldkiller’ starts as a power ballad. But no, what we hear later is great Stadium Rock. The two guitarists celebrate a strong guitar solo. ‘Luxury’ is more in the mid-tempo range. With a catchy guitar melody and a chorus sung by several voices. ‘Dry Body Passion’ is a real Rock’n’Roll neckbreaker. The great anthem ‘Loving You (Is Loving A Broken)’ is a culmination of the album. Outstanding guitar work. ‘Sex, Drugs and Rock’n’Roll’ was the motto of the eighties. With the song title ‘Cocaine Eyes & Nicotine Stains’, only the drugs remain. Even if it sounds like upbeat Rock’n’Roll at the beginning, there is another AOR anthem later on. ‘Pluto’ then resounds in the style of the great stadium anthems of the eighties. The tempo picks up again with ‘Rock To Ruin’, in keeping with the song title. With ‘Chasing Ghosts’ we move into melodic AOR realms. In the mid-tempo range. In ‘Out For More’, which starts with hard riffs from both guitarists and powerful drumming, the guitars later dominate.  Finally, the Finns really get going again with ‘Last Breath Of Rock “n” Roll’. And this is by no means the last breath. On the contrary, this is Rock’n’Roll in its purest form. Hard riffs, twin guitar solos and polyphonic vocals in the chorus.

‘High Hopes On The Rocks’ is a more than successful debut album. There is not a weak song. They are all suitable for airplay. Rimbacher inspire with their great joy of playing. You can clearly hear the fun the musicians had while recording. Only the album cover is not quite to my taste.

Rimbacher – Pluto: https://youtu.be/kVEcSvap3vA?si=Py5_WCn1c48_svGP

Lineup:

Niko Rimbacher – Vocals
Osku ”Sticky” Kilpi – Guitar
Jim ”Jimbo” Heikkinen – Guitar
Reisca Morani – Bass
Jouni Kauppinen – Drums

Track list:

• Worldkiller
• Luxury
• Dry Body Passion
• Loving You (Is Loving a Broken)
• Cocaine Eyes & Nicotine Stains
• Pluto
• Rock To Ruin
• Chasing Ghosts
• Out For More
• The Last Breath Of Rock ‘n’ Roll