When I read that Northern Irish four piece ‘The Answer’ were a four piece hard rock band, hard rock was what I was expecting from their new single, Comfort Zone. What I got was something a bit different, and better than I was expecting.

‘Comfort Zone’ is apparently a favourite at live shows, and I can see why their fans like it. The Answer has come up with a pretty cool rock ballad that makes for an enjoyable listen. The melody is a quite simple acoustic based guitar arrangement through the verses, with a slightly stomping drum beat. The instruments all come together to soar in the right places, leaving a sing-along, crowd swaying style chorus. Towards the end there are slight suggestions of the operatic-rock that made Meatloaf a star. It’s quite an interesting mix of sounds, which together with the sentiments in the lyrics, makes for quite a powerful product. The only thing I would say, is that I’m not overly keen on some of the backing vocals in the full band or acoustic version of the song. They didn’t seem to fit quite right and got a little annoying.

That aside it’s a fairly strong single, which is swiftly followed by the very different ‘Here To Stay’. This is where the bands ‘hard rock’ edge comes into play, and they’ve created quite a raw, heavier sound with this track. There are hints of blues, and metal in this song, and a slightly old school rock vibe about it. My personal preference would be the first track on the CD, but this is very current and mixed/produced well too.

I’m sure fans will be delighted this song is being released, and for those (like me) who haven’t come across ‘The Answer’ before, then I would say this is a pretty strong introduction to what these guys can do. Check them out for yourselves when ‘Comfort Zone’ is released on November 22nd, or catch them on tour from November 25th.

More information @ www.theanswer.ie