Nestor - 'Teenage Rebel' Released 31st May 2024

Jumping forward to date and second Nestor album 'Teenage Rebel' is about to be unearthed on May 31st, not a bad return for a band formed in 1989 yet decided to hibernate for three decades before a Reawakening in 2021. Having teased with 2 singles 'Victorious' & 'Caroline' these early offerings from album number two captivated the listener yet again with the 'Nestor' branding of infectious melodies, stunning vocals and first-rate musicianship.

The album preludes with the monologue 'The Law of Jante' a Scandinavian code of behaviours with a fitting rebellious twist leading straight into the powerhouse opener of 'We Come Alive' it becomes evident that 'Nestor' have not strayed from their signature sound found on the debut, title track 'Teenage Rebel' , 'Victorious' , ‘21’, ‘Unchain My Heart’ are simply Melodic Wonders, marvelling through the intricacies of the finest hooks, licks and fills as expected, it will come as no surprise this album is packed full of soaring anthems that will no doubt leave a lasting impression on the listener…Big Chorus’, Loud Guitars, Huge production… Yet again Sweden is kicking the Melodic Rock scene onto another level.

At just under the 45-minute mark, Teenage Rebel has a structured balance of hard rocking delights set side by side with a brace of lighter delicacies, Navigating the 'Nestor' Ship on the voyage is vocalist Tobias Gustavsson, whose scathing vocals effortlessly steer the album's detailed melodies, the emotional yet haunting delivery of 'The One that Got Away' and album closer 'Daughter' are just stunning.

Teenage Rebel exhibits the effortless musical capabilities with each member delivering outstanding performances, Jonny Wemmenstedt’s guitar wizardry with those tones, the riffs and the blistering solo’s throughout are only enhanced by keys player Martin Frejinger’s resonating qualities that bounce off and complement each other, to hammer the solid Nestor foundation together we have the behemoth flawless backline of Mattias Carlsson thumping on drums and low end strummer Marcus Åblad tickling that Bass.  

Nestor do provide a traditional nod to that Golden age of 80’s Hard Rock, it is easy to gauge where the Nestor influences came from, while there is the odd stopover at Nostalgia’ville, it is worth noting the sound and style does have a somewhat freshness to it, full of energy and vigour, heaps of harmonies and very well polished. Nestor have spent a good amount of time playing live, have been regulars on the EU Festival scene, MOR Cruises and do have their own festival ‘NestorFest’ in their hometown of Falköping each year, hopefully won’t be too long before Nestor will be welcomed to the UK shores for some dates in the future.

Teenage Rebel is testimony to the overwhelming power that is melodic rock, a perfect selection of well-crafted tunes forged by the musical mastery of these 5 guys, so if you are a fan of over-the-top catchy as hell melodies, sing-a-long chorus’, roaring guitars, this is an album that’s an essential addition to your collection... if your not a fan, just give this beast a spin, you maybe converted.

MG