For all the furore to be found across the melodic rock interwebs about Welsh wonder Chez Kane‘s descent into ‘racy’ video hell, one thing remains, and one thing only – the voice.

That has to be a good thing – she is a singer, after all – and on her second album, Powerzone, our Chez shows again just what a great voice she’s got. Whether it be heads down Dokkenesque mayhem (the title track) or John Farhnam styled stadium-levelling, bagpipe-propelled madness (Children of Tomorrow Gone), the pipes have got you covered, and then some. And whilst there’s nothing here that quite matches the heights of her debut’s best tracks, this second album surely serves to cement Kane’s reputation as the up-and-coming rock singer in the melodic rock arena.

At times it’s a bit too twee – Streets of Gold sounds too much like a brainstorming session to come up with the logical successor to Just Like Jessie James gone slightly awry – but overall the level of feelgood here simply destroys any resistance you may have to the ‘concept’ of Chez Kane, demanding you locate those long-thought-lost hightops and Satin dust jackets and go along with the ride.

And if you do – well, it’s a pretty wild ride at that. Opening track I Just Want You is probably the pick of the pack, all dramatic key changes and goosebump-inducing drama, but Nationwide is not far behind; Backed by Crazy Lixx man Danny Rexon again, who plays and produces everything, Chez goes for a power-packed punch right in the nostalgia feels on tracks like superb closer Guilty of Love; it’s a fabulous song, built on a shimmering wall of Survivoresque keys and featuring one of the best vocals she’s ever committed to wax, mixing just the right amount of grit to give the song real emotion. And then there’s Rexon’s solo which closes the song out – my word it’s an absolute cracker…

A Couple of real classics bookending the album, then, and plenty of well tidy and fun-packed entertainment throughout to keep a smile on the face and a nostalgic race in the pulse – the rise of Chez Kane continues…

Powerzone releases on October 21st.