Voice of Reason

Voice of Reason is an ambitious third album on which Harem Scarem, while keeping its native beautiful choruses and precise playing, boldly widens into a far darker, more complex style than before. The era was the mid-1990s, when grunge and alternative rose. The band too sensitively reflected that air, stepping into a heavier, more introspective direction. Harry Hess’s singing is smooth, yet a taut tension drifts through the whole. From the weight of the title track “Voice of Reason” and the lyricism of “Blue” to the drama of “Warming a Frozen Rose,” every song carries deep shading, while cuts like “Let It Go” and “Candle” vividly show a new side of the band. The fine movement of the guitar and the changes of rhythm keep the melody from drifting into simple pop. An experimental work that drew mixed views, steering greatly from the flamboyant melodic-hard-rock direction of the first two albums, its challenging stance and high song quality have been reappraised over time. Conveying the band’s inexhaustible inquiry to greatly widen the frame of melodic rock, it is an important record where the talent of Hess and Lesperance shines.