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Chicago's High Spirits is a band I've been following since their self-titled release in 2009, which combined the songs from their earlier demos. Main man Chris Black keeps much about this band under wraps as he wants people to listen with their ears, not with their eyes, though now that they are playing live more and have a Facebook presence, more is being revealed. Artwork is similarly vague and consists of a map of a subway system on the cover of the band's second proper album, You Are Here (I thought it was Chicago's, but a quick Google search proved I'm no Sherlock Holmes).

Musically, You Are Here stays true to the Hard Rock/NWOBHM style the band has employed on their prior releases. Black's high, clear vocals aren't necessarily the best but not being perfect was something that made a lot of those classic 80s albums special. The rest of the band is solid as they play traditional tunes with mainly verse-chorus-verse-chorus-solo-chorus construction. If you liked High Spirits' previous albums, you won't hate You Are Here. What I'm not hearing on this release is any progression from the things they've done before. You Are Here could easily be Another Night, Vol. II. Not that a band has to radically change their sound but to avoid getting boring a little branching out or a step up in the songwriting would be good, and I hear neither on You Are Here.

If this is your first experience with High Spirits, and you enjoy the Hard Rock end of the NWOBHM spectrum, You Are Here should work fine for you. But as you dig into the band's catalog, expect to hear more of the same from a band that might be getting stuck in a rut just a little.