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Artist: Marc Ferreira |
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If I could
get away with it, all I’d write about this album is…BUY IT! Thank
You and Goodbye. But I
can’t, so here goes… Brazilian
born Marc Ferreira has had a few strings to his bow over the last 13
years or so. First he was in a 2 piece band with his brother Alex
(who’s a part of this band now), then a 3 piece when a friend joined
them to form MONKEY, before they eventually met Dario Seixas who plays
bass for them now as well. In between
times, he’s sang in other bands, appeared at music festivals and
eventually got to write this, his latest solo album, ‘Working
Overtime’. Busy doesn’t seem quite the appropriate word, workaholic
does, but it's been worth it when you hear this. Ferreira is
definitely dipping his toes in the 80’s era of rock here, songs being
light enough to be on par with the ‘Slippery When Wet’ Bon Jovi era,
yet heavy enough for Van Halen’s prime time as well, so no-one should
be disappointed then. Opening with
‘Walking On Thin Ice’, with the twinned guitar intro that takes you
into a fine mid-tempo harmony-laden song that any melodic fan will get
off on, then getting into their stride with another similar styled song
in ‘Lazy’. This keeps up with the lighter side with the roll along
drums and guitars, again the harmonies flitting in and out perfectly as
the song sails along with ease. They turn up
the heat a touch on title track ‘Working Overtime’, due to the
choppy, harder edged guitar, Alex Ferreira having a real good workout on
the drums, all shows that the band has a heavier side to them when
needed. It again comes to light in no uncertain terms on ‘Let it
die’ again the drums getting a good thumping whilst real gritty guitar
riff slices through it all. Is it just me, or does Ferreira sound
like Dan Reed here?? ‘Paper
Cut’ definitely shows you the harder edge of this band, with the intro
full of ‘oomph’, due to that heavy guitar and thudding bass hook by
Seixas. The vocals sound as though they’re a megaphone in parts and
just to add to all this there’s a great guitar solo mid way through
just to keep you wannabe axe-men happy! It’s back
to the lighter side on ‘Mr Bad Deal’, that, reading between the
lines, could be quite a personal middle-finger gesture to someone
who’s tried it on with Ferreira in the past when it's come to maybes
getting a record deal or something. When he uses
the lines “If you want it all for nothing, that’s no deal” and,
“I’m better off alone to find my way” it makes the assumption more
realistic. Thing is, it’s sang over an easy on the ear guitar and drum
sound, so he may not be as bitter because of where he’s at now. New
bands listen to this song at all costs! The spit
‘n sawdust soaked ‘Bad Girl’, all cowboy blues beat, has your feet
unable to stay still for a second, conjuring up pictures of the band
playing in a large barn to those cowboys and their gals, the mid section
slowed down to give them a breather before it all begins again. Quite
simply, it’s a quirky track that will put a smile on anyone’s face. After the
straight forward, acoustic-led ‘Nobody’s Happy’ (gee thanks!),
comes what I’d say is the perfect song to end an album. ‘Ordinary
Life’, with its little touches on guitar here and there throughout
just gives the song that extra bit life in the simplest of ways which I
can’t explain properly, but it does believe me. This is one of my
favourite songs of the year up to now on one of my favourite albums of
the year up to now. Y’know, I
may be a 46 year old follically-challenged rock fan who should probably
know better in some eyes, but I still get excited by a good sounding
rock album, and ‘Working overtime’ is one of those albums, and I’m
not going to apologise for it either, so I’m going to end this review
as I wanted it to begin it. BUY IT!!
Thank you and goodbye. Review by: Bob |
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Tracklisting: 1.
Walking On Thin Ice
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All content copyright of The Mayfair Mall Zine unless otherwise stated. |
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