Thirteen

Thirteen is a work on which Harem Scarem pulls refined melody, precise, beautiful choruses and hard guitar riffs together at extremely high polish. Counting from the self-titled debut, it is a memorable thirteenth studio album. Fully holding a pop, accessible appeal, its playing and arrangement have a grown-up, sure tension particular to veterans, and the songs are crafted carefully down to the details. From the powerful drive of the opener “Garden of Eden” and the catchy “Live It” to the drama of “Saints and Sinners,” every song is of a high standard, while cuts like “The Midnight Hours” and “Whatever It Takes” convey the band’s rich melodic sense. Powerful, lifting rock numbers and melody that digs deeply into emotion coexist, and the band’s vivid duality appears beautifully. A record filled throughout with the polished song quality and sure playing reachable even after — no, precisely because of — a long career. It sounds the fresh melodic hard rock of its origin more deeply and powerfully. Letting you fully savor the polished appeal of melodic hard rock, it is a fulfilling masterpiece, loftily showing the band’s vigor.