The name “Ace Frehley” will forever be synonymous with the three-word phrase, “Former KISS guitarist.” Despite his frequent verbal swipes at his former band, I don’t think he has any problem with that connection. After all, it still gives him his identity and a significant connection to one of rock’s iconic bands. He was the original KISS guitarist, writing more than his fair share of some of their better material (“Cold Gin,” “Parasite,” “Strange Ways,” “Shock Me”), and generating a very strong and loyal fan-base — not just for the band but for himself as well. Recording seven albums with KISS, Frehley was a strong contributing factor to their success, influencing many a male teen to pick up the guitar and learn a few things (before maturing, of course, and moving onto other more proficient guitarists to borrow from). And although he may be on bad terms with his former band mates, he hasn’t really done anything to distance himself from his former band. His writing style has petty much remained the same as it was during his tenure with KISS — big, beefy guitar riffs, solid bass playing, bombastic drums, and always a somewhat catchy chorus. Frehley, like KISS, has never strived to reach beyond the basics, be it his songwriting or his guitar work, preferring instead to stay in his comfort zone. Somehow, it works. He continues this trend on his sixth solo album, Space Invader.
This is Frehley’s first solo release since 2009’s over-reaching Anomaly. With Space Invader, he plays it safe. The 11 tracks pretty much stay close to his template, a slight variation here and there, but mostly within his self-imposed musical guidelines. Frehley doesn’t get too adventurous, and for him, that’s probably a great idea. The title track kicks it off, with a lot of promise, before sliding into the sort of lyrical silliness that seems to pull the song right down to the ground. “I Wanna Hold You” starts off with some heavy drums and turns into what really boils down to a pure bubble-gum pop song, with metal overtones. The song is catchy as hell, especially after a couple of listens. I wish he would continue his flair for pop rock that he often displayed in the past. It seems to be the style he executes best. “What Every Girl Wants” almost captures the same feel, but misses the mark ever so slightly. That’s too bad, because two catchy pop tunes could easily make up for his misses on Space Invader. “Toys” is a decent enough rocker, if you ignore the childish subject matter, and juvenile lyrics. The absurdity of the lyrics seems to overshadow the song itself. A lyrical rewrite could have really saved this track. And, for the sake of nit-picking, the main guitar riff bares more than a slight resemblance to KISS’ “Almost Human.”
“Past the Milky Way” is another reminder that Ace Frehley loves his Space Man persona, and enjoys writing about the subject matter. Except, well…it gets a bit absurd after a short while. It seems to me, when he runs out of ideas, he falls back upon the inter-galactic theme. A cover of Steve Miller’s “The Joker” is pointless, lacking any attempt to breathe new life into what is a true rock classic. It is almost as if he wanted to record the track for the simple opportunity of proclaiming, “Some people call me the space cowboy.” “Starship” is an instrumental that really promises something innovative, even toying with country music overtones. Unfortunately, “Starship” just simply chases its tail, and fails to really find a path. And that pretty much is the overall feel of everything here on Space Invader. It offers no surprises; you know what you’re getting and generally it satisfies, even if it isn’t really that ground-breaking. Despite these limitations, there are some blazing guitar leads that are trademark Ace Frehley. Matt Starr simply attacks on the drums, never overplaying, but definitely is a driving force. Frehley handles all vocals, guitar, and bass chores. In all honesty, this is far better than KISS’ 2013 studio release Monster, which was simply pointless. Space Invader is what it is — music to turn up all the way, at home or in the car. Most listeners will definitely find themselves bobbing their heads, and singing along with the majority of the tracks. Frehley fans will be satisfied, and at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
~ Bruce Forrest
