"Despite the fact that they released only two albums in the 90s, Dizzy Mizz Lizzy - along with Kashmir, to be fair - were perhaps the most important band on the Danish alternative rock scene at the time. They eventually had a less-than-amicable split-up and, while Tim Christensen embarked on a solo career, the two other members took up regular day jobs, and that was the end of that adventure.
Or so it seemed, because the band decided to reunite and write new material, and in 2016, their comeback album "Forward in Reverse" saw the light of day.
And, boy, what a great album! From the opening instrumental track "Phying Pharao" over the uptempo rocker "Terrified in Paradise" and the heavy "Brainless" to the groovy "Mindgasm", we are treated to catchy and melodic hard rock tunes which capture capture the sense of Beatles-inspired sophistication that characterized the band's 90s albums. Even the ballads "Something So Familiar" and "Say it to me Anyway" - which are more reminiscent of frontman Tim Christensen's more softie solo efforts - are actually pretty good.
Although it's 20 years between "Rotator" and this album, it seems more like only two or three years have passed. Incredibly, the production sounds almost like it does on those two 90s albums, and the musicianship has not faltered at all despite the fact that two of the band's members had been away from the music industry for, what, 15 years or something. Tim Christensen's voice also sounds pretty much like it did back then.
Admittedly, part of my appreciation of this album has to do with nostalgia. I mean, I was young in the 90s and would listen a lot to the band's 90s albums, but the music on this album can stand on its own, and it can be enjoyed even if you were not around to enjoy 90s music scene in Denmark. This is because we are simply dealing with great rock music. Period."
"The alternative hard rock band, Dizzy Mizz Lizzy, was one of the central names of the Danish rock scene in the 1990s, and, despite only ever releasing 2 albums before breaking up in 1998 because of internal tension, they had an incredibly big impact on the national scene. The band reunited in 2009, played a number of very successful shows and released a live album in 2010.
In 1994, they released the album that started it all - namely, their eponymous debut album, which introduced the world to Tim Christensen's talent for writing sophisticated, yet catchy and guitar-driven power rock - and to his unique voice. Most of the tracks are quite uplifting and highly melodic such as "Waterline", "Barbedwired Babys Dream", "Glory", "67 Seas in Your Eyes", "Mother Nature's Recipe", "...And So Did I", "Wishing Well", "Love Me A Little", "For God's Sake", and "Too Close to Stab" all of which are characterized by a straightforward drive, but still contain twists and turns in the form of atypical chords and harmonies, changes in tempo and the occasional odd time signature. There are also several Beatles-esque elements to be found on this album, which should be no surprise, given that Dizzy Mizz Lizzy are huge Beatles-fans. The often funky drumming also adds an interesting layer to these songs (the drumming in general is phenomenal). In addition to these hard-rocking songs, the album contains the successful ballad "Love Is A Loser's Game" and the massive power ballad "Silverflame".
I genuinely think that this is one of the best Danish rock releases of the 1990s, as each and every song is a well crafted solid piece of rock music. This album deserves its status as a definitive milestone in Danish rock music. And, I would recommend this album to any fan of rock music who are interested in the Danish rock scene of the 1990s - a time otherwise haunted by ghastly Aqua-esque bubble gum Eurodance plastic pop.
(Review originally posted at SpiritOfRock.com)"
"The second and last Dizzy Mizz Lizzy album before Tim Christensen went solo, "Rotator" is pretty much in the same vein as the predecessor, but received less success. Like the predecessor, it contains some solid Beatles-inspired hard rock songs which are interesting and catchy at the same time."
