A one man Anything Box for the new millennium
Daniel W. Kelly | Long Island, NY United States | 10/06/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"James Roy captures the gorgeous synthpop dance sounds and vocal quality of late 80s bands like Anything Box with this debut CD, which actually includes alternate mixes of a couple of songs from his "Don't Let Me Go" maxi-single as well. Most of the tracks have a retro 80s feel with a heavy trance NRG feel. But it's not all dance music here--there is also some experimental, ambient synth stuff as well. The remixes on the CD single for "Rise Above" are so fantastic, intensifying the already obvious nods to 80s new wave, that I can only hope some of the other songs will be remixed to enhance the retro 80s feel of the vocals.
1. Trick (a very trancy synth NRG track)
2. Steel (A moody house/trance track)
3. Rise Above (a gorgeous throwback to 80s synthdance--but the maxi single mixes bring it to a whole new level)
4. Drift Away (light NRG synth dance)
5. I Believe (more light and airy NRG dance)
6. Not for You (a darker trance dance feel)
7. Tonight I Dream (a trippy rhythm track featuring vocals with heavy effects. The version on The "Don't Let Me Go" Cd single is more of a dance rhythm, but a very floaty sounding version as well)
8. Exotique (spoken vocal on an high NRG trance/house track)
9. Sunlight in My Eyes (a dance track with slower BPMs. A nice moody Depeche Mode feel to the vocals, melody and harmony)
10. What Would You Do (a 6 minute long hard trance mix of a song originally in a more watered down mix on the "Don't Let Me Go" single)
11. Midnight Rain (a moody, trippy track that is basically instrumental)
12. I Believe (great remix of an already great dance track from earlier in the CD. This trancy mix is 7 and a half minutes!)"
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1