Effortless brilliance.

That’s a nonsense thing to say, of course- it take a heck of a lot of effort, not to mention blood, sweat, tears, broken strings, shattered dreams and God knows what else to get to the heights currently domiciled by Swedish AOR Titans Perfect Plan, but you know what I mean – The casual way with which they toss out absolutely blinding slices of melodic hard rock like We Are The Heroes must surely point to otherworldly assistance rather than just good old fashioned hard work – mustn’t it?

Have a listen to the third track on the band’s new album Hear of A Lion; All Night is the song in question, and blow me down if it doesn’t reduce your crazed reviewer to a quivering mass of emotionally-inflamed jelly every time he hears it… The pompous synths, the thunderous drums, the surges of Olympian guitar and, of course, THAT voice, all go to prove what we’ve known for some time – that Perfect Plan are in a different postcode to the opposition, and then some.

And whilst undoubtedly we must hail Kent Hilli‘s golden tonsils, which again rekindle rose-tinted, tear-soaked memories of the blessed Jimi Jamison every time the great man opens his word hole, me must also pour plaudits all over the band’s four other members, all of whom pull out all the stops on every track to deliver an absolutely sublime result.

Turn Up Your Radio is another spinetingler, with Rolf Nordström delivering a sparkling solo mid tune, whilst the punchy, triumphant Ready To Break reminds you of Hilli’s other band, Giant, with it’s superior use of drama hanks to some edgy, urgent synths from Leif Ehlin and a dose of nice controlled power from the engine room of bassist Mats Byström and tubthumping pal Fredrik Forsberg.

Too Tough will get AOR advocates of a certain age incredibly hot under the collar, whilst the Hammond-laden Lady Mysterious adds a bluesy authority to proceedings and shows that these guys aren’t just wimpwire revivalists but are easily able of slipping into – and mastering of course – a plethora of moods and styles. In tandem with companion piece Danger On The Loose, another pomp-ridden slab of hard rock majesty, it’ll knock any misconceptions about this band being merely a bunch of satin-coated ninnies in to a conveniently-placed cocked hat.

One Touch is pure, goosebump-inducing nostalgia – in a good way, natch – taking the listener back to teenaged summers where the nights never ended and real life never impinged on the dream, whilst album closer At Your Stone rounds things out in suitably dramatic style, all jagged axes, icy synth work and, of course, classy vocals… In an album not short on vintage moments, this is one of the biggest.

So there you have it. They’ve done it again, not that we doubted they would. If you’ve liked anything this band has produced thus far you’ll love every last note of this one, and if you’ve never heard Perfect Plan before but love AOR… what are you still doping reading this? GET INVOLVED!!

Heart of a Lion releases on February 28th