Forgotten Gems : IN LUST WE TRUST by The Ark

Around the turn of the century, there was a sort of revival of glam rock, with bands fronted by campy and stereotypical gay looking singers. The most notable of those bands, in my opinion, is swedish The Ark. Ola Salo, the frontman, is outrageously campy, but does it with an extreme confidence and he has a brilliant voice on top of that. The band sound image is generally campy glam 70s retro, at least a this point, and inspiration is drawn from the stars of that era, like Bolan, Slade, Sweet and off course Queen.

But at the same time as the image is obviously campy, the music is less so, if still grand and pompous.The melodies are honest and down to earth really and I like this combination, since the image is mostly for show, and the music works very well disconnected from the visuals. But it must be said that Salo has a magnetic stage presence that is far beyond your average frontman. We are almost talking Freddy Mercury level here. Another aspect that adds to the underratedness of this band.

They did break through quite well with this album, but still today they remain pretty much unknown in the larger world, and that is a goddamn shame. This is one of the best glam rock oriented albums made since glam rock. The best part is really that it still has a more updated and modern sound than the 70s style, so that it can stand on its own and rather becomes an extension of the glam style rather than a pastiche.

I like every single track on this album, not even a single average one here. The production is solid and the band plays well without going into wild excursions to impress. This one just grows and grows and that is a quality stamp if there ever was one. I might add that their debut "We Are The Ark" ain't too shabby either.