Norway’s Tom Satin hasn’t yet made many waves in the music business, save for the Japanese market where both of his albums – the last of which, It’s About Time, was released in 2017 – have been rapturously received. Will that situation change with the arrival of the man’s new effort, Appetition? That’s a very good question…

If there’s any justice it should – classy, smooth AOR like Angels Come, Angels Go definitely deserves to be heard by the widest possible audience, for a start – but, after a while spent in the company of this album it’s hard to see it breaking down the walls of public apathy that this style of music usually comes up against. Satin’s voice, whilst pleasantly melodic, doesn’t quite carry the grit or heft required to make it truly heroic in a prime-time Bon Jovi sense, and nor does it possess the rich soulfulness of a Joseph Williams which would certainly aid the yacht rock strains of the best track here, Waiting For Another Man.

All that said, if you’re already a fool for superbly crafted, classy hard rock then this is definitely an album you should be considering for purchase. Satin plays and sings everything here – very well, it has to be said – and he’s got an ear for arrangement that’s second to none. Whether it’s perky pop rock (Everybody Need To Be Loved) or more weighty material (the superbly early Survivorish Fight Again), Satin works with a lightness of touch and sureness of purpose that makes every track eminently listenable even if it doesn’t quite reach the heights you think Satin might be capable of.

Entertaining stuff, then, and hopefully Appetition will do well enough that we aren’t left long for a new Satin album for quite so long next time…

Appetition releases on October 14th.