ENGLISH

Review by R.J. Frometa

Fans get all the good and wonder of rock music on one disc with Rise Above from Poc. Unlike other groups out there proclaiming to be real rockers, from the first song on the album fans have no doubt that what they’re hearing isn’t a contrived combination of different sounds, but pure rock n ‘roll. Rise Above is what we’ve needed for a long time in the music scene today.

“Esta Noche,” “No Quiero Llorar,” “Go To Hell” and pretty much all the rest of the songs are loaded with powerful guitar riffs that start out ready to blow you away and even make you convulse by the end, in a good way though.

“Voy,” “Miénteme” and “Un Minuto Más” are the exceptions; one could say that they are like songs, brilliant ones, put there to calm the crowd, to give a few minutes of quiet before returning again to the same state of madness as the other tracks. Really, very considerate, but don’t think that because these songs are slower they cease to be amazing. In fact, they are quite the opposite, especially “Afraid of The Dark,” which is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve heard in my life. Guitar and piano complement each other, and the violin elements create something that makes you want to cry.

When listeners find out more about this girl Poc and learn who acts as her “master,” well, it’s no surprise the guitar stands out strongly complimenting the fierce eloquence in her voice. Producer Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal (Guns N’ Roses) did a magnificent job with Rise Above. His outstanding talent uncovers hers and the debut is Rise Above.
About the recording process, Thal says:

“Poc flew up to to my studio in New Jersey and lived there for two months while we wrote, recorded, and kept a Livestream going to have fans watch, and participate – we had them Skype their backing vocals to us to include in the song Rock N Roll Baby, something I don’t think has ever been done on an album. We’d spend hours late at night listening to the past 50 years of rock music, Janis Joplin, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, getting inspiration. And in the end you can hear that real singer/guitarist team in the songs, that duo of personalities, we captured that.”

“I’ve never experienced so much making an album as I have with Poc. In those two months we had a heat wave, an earthquake, a hurricane, a flood that left 3 feet of water in the studio, and lots of personal challenges to deal with from family tragedies to extortion threats, all this while I was in rehabilitation from a car accident that had left me unable to play and in constant pain. It was one challenge after another. But instead of it stopping us, it added intensity and spirit to the album. That’s where the album title came from – every time an obstacle would stand in our way, we’d Rise Above.”

Rate: 5/5

ESPANOL

Revista por R.J. Frometa

Todo lo bueno, todo lo maravilloso de la música rock en un solo disco. A diferencia de otros grupos allá afuera que anda autoproclamándose roqueros, desde la primera canción no cabe la menor duda de que lo que estás escuchando no es una combinación de sonidos diferentes sino puro rock n’ roll. Rise Above es lo que nos hacía falta desde hace mucho tiempo en la escena musical de hoy en día.

“Esta Noche,” “No Quiero Llorar,” “Go To Hell” y prácticamente todas las otras canciones, con sus riffs de guitarras potentes, listos para quemarte las neuronas y hasta hacerte convulsionar; “Voy”, “Miénteme”, “Un Minuto Más” sin embargo son como la excepción de lo antes dicho, se podría decir que son como canciones, brillantes, pero más como para calmarnos, para darnos unos minutos de tranquilidad antes de volver otra vez al mismo estado de locura, de verdad, muy considerado; pero no se crean, porque sean más lenta no significa que dejen de ser increíble, de hecho es todo lo contrario, en especial “Afraid Of The Dark,” una de las más bellas y preciosas canciones que he oído en mi vida, la guitarra y el piano se complementan, los elementos del violín crean algo que da ganas de llorar.

En conclusión, todo esto puede que maraville a muchos, pero cuando averiguamos más sobre esta chica y sepamos quien en su maestro, bueno, ya no es tanto el asombro. Lo que si creo todos estaremos de acuerdo es que Bumblefoot hizo un buen trabajo. Talento excelente, un genio como maestro, el resultado es este álbum.

Rate: 5/5