Synchronized

Synchronized is the twelfth album on which FM, centered on Steve Overland’s smooth, powerful voice, carefully honed the border between AOR and hard rock. The guitar and keyboards, without getting in each other’s way, create a soft sheen and firm drive in each song. Even after a long career, the band’s devotion to melody and the fullness of its playing have not dimmed in the least. From clear rockers to ballad-leaning lyrical songs, the songs’ expressions are varied, yet a “grown-up melodic rock” refinement consistently drifts through them all. Led by the title track “Synchronized,” the tracks are all colored by neat choruses and refined arrangement. Valuing long-lasting melody and the breathing of the playing over flashy devices, it is a fine record on which a mature FM quietly deepened its aesthetic, with the unity of voice and ensemble giving the whole a pleasant stability.