More pop than rock, Patrick (T'Bell) Tibell's latest project,
CC Rock is an interesting mix of eighties'
AOR and commercial pop.
There are a lot of echoes resonating here, from modern day
Casanova to eighties' pop duo, Boy Meets Girl, with riffs lifted from bands as varied as The Mission and Van Halen.
Producer, Tibell (who also provided vocals, keyboards and programming) gathers it all up in a bright, trebly swirl of buzzing guitars and candy striped melody.
The songs are catchy, without being truly memorable. Tibell has pushed the guitars well up in the mix and given them (and everything else) a clean, scrubbed up tone. At times it sounds like white noise that's capable of holding a tune.
'
Wanna Feel Like The First Time' expresses the positive sentiment that fuels all six tracks.
Trace Beach Boys' harmonies meet up with smooth yet infinitely lively eighties' riffing in a colourful extravaganza of nostalgic
AOR.
The highly derivative '
The Best I Can' apes
Casanova, and moreso Demon Drive's bright, bubbly side. Insubstantial and easily consumed. But immense fun.
'
Dreamer' is probably the standout track. The vocals are pushed up the billing and occupy centre stage for most of this emphatically pop track. The obviously programmed sound gets to be somewhat irritating by this point, and tends to undermine the track's gorgeous rush of pop optimism.
The formula continues for another two tracks, '
Angel' and '
Special Lady', unfailingly uptempo and upbeat, ending with a radio edit of '
Dreamer' as a bonus track.
No question that Tibell has melodic flair and an ear for a good tune, but this trailer for a full album is flawed by his one dimensional production style. This batch of head turning songs deserve much better.
Written by
Brian Friday, July 20, 2007
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