Written By: Gdazegod

• Artist: Blue Ambition
• Album: The Scarlet Touch
• Label: Perris Records
• Serial: PER6122
• Year: 2026
• CD Info: Discogs Release Info
• Country Of Origin: France, USA, Sweden

Lineup:

• Robbie LaBlanc - lead and backing vocals
• Frederic Slama - guitar, keyboards
• Tommy Denander - drums, guitar, co-producer

Track Listing:

• 01 In Love With A Shadow
• 02 Don’t Break A Heart That Starts To Beat
• 03 Love From A Stranger
• 04 One Way Ticket To Trouble
• 05 The Scarlet Touch
• 06 Don’t Change Horses In Midstream
• 07 The Logic Of Your Heart
• 08 Two Nights With You
• 09 Front Page News
• 10 Burning Secrets

Rating: 80/100

Weblinks: Site Link

Background

2025 saw the release of the debut Blue Ambition project ‘Seduction Of The Innocent’, and it certainly made an impression on these ears. If I was ranking albums during the 2025 year (which I didn’t), then BA would’ve made my Top 20, if only for the first five tracks, the remainder? Not so much.

I was pleasantly surprised to sse the BA trio of Slama, laBlanc and Denander return so soon with this their follow up ‘The Scarlet Touch’. Stylistically there’s not much change between what you hear on this one versus the previous one. I’m hoping though that the interest is retained throughout, rather than the halfway dropout on last years album.

The Songs

Musically, the quality here is top notch. Not overcooked, just three pro’s in the studio delivering the goods. Usually I would complain that Robbie over sings his parts, but here he keeps to a mid range pitch without hitting the power vocal button, which means he sounds pretty good as a result.

‘In Love With A Shadow’ complete with an intro soaring guitar line from Tommy makes for an ideal opener. It just lives in the dead center zone of AOR. A synth arpeggio precedes ‘Don’t Break A Heart That Starts To Beat’. The verse has similarities to last years ‘Ground For Suspicion’, once you hear it you’ll recognise it.

The keyboard laden ‘Love From A Stranger’ just keeps earning brownie points as the album continues on. My only issue is the vocal phrasing on the chorus, when Robbie sings ‘She needs love from a stranger’ just doesn’t flow naturally, particularly the emphasis on the word ‘stranger’. ‘One Way Ticket To Trouble’ is similar to the previous track, again the chorus phrasing is slightly out, but never the mind.

‘The Scarlet Touch’ heads down a cruisy west coast boulevard, those Wurlitzer styled keys is like winding the clock back to 1981. The trio take it up a notch with ‘Don’t Change Horses In Midstream’, a racy melodic rocker, certainly much heavier than the earlier tracks. It was probably a welcome change midway through the album too.

‘The Logic Of Your Heart’ cuts back to Blue Ambition’s stock and trade as heard on the first few tracks. Mostly melodic mid-tempo with awkward vocals and soaring guitar when called upon. A persistent organ part welcomes in ‘Two Nights With You’, it’s another racy number which sits comfortably in the AOR/melodic rock zone.

‘Front Page News’ is a pleasant tune, but placed at track 9, the songs are starting to sound seamless from one to the next. Not enough variation to be honest. The same goes for the finale ‘Burning Secrets’.

In Summary

As much as I tried to like the overall album, it fell short in a couple of areas. Many of the arrangements sounded far too similar in structure. It lacked for variation, with the exception of the title track and ‘Don’t Change Horses In Midstream’. The vocal phrasing on a couple of tracks made for an awkward listen, which means the songwriting just needs a bit of refinement to make it sound more natural rather than word stuffing, even though I know it wasn’t being done like that deliberately,

Compared to last years album, I give it the same rating (80/100), because there’s not a lot of difference between the two.