C-Beem’s newest album is an explorative, varied journey of emotions, styles, and sounds that retain a trademark retro-synth sound that binds the experience together into a cohesive and entertaining listening experience.
C-Beem is the moniker for Chris Mills, a Leicester City-based producer, and composer whose infatuation lies with vintage synth sounds from the 80s and 90s, of which we find loads in his latest album, titled Jammin’ The Steam Towers. At parts political, at parts adventurous, fantastical, and even humorous, the album is a trip that rewards multiple listens.
The promising start of the album with Peekaboo is unforgettable. The swagger, charismatic, yelled vocals bring a Bowie-like confidence that made the 80s-inspired retro synths sound just right. The driving and groovy piece is disco-conscious and infectious, multi-faceted, and loaded with a terrific keyboard solo that’s soulful and beautifully breaks the hectic pace with the help of acid jazz. From the experimental and brooding darkness of the following cut, Under the Gun, and its memorable, rhythmic howls, onto the playful and bright synth-pop offering of Toad Hall. With a spoken, fantastical story, this fusion brought to mind M83’s touching “Raconte-moi une histoire”, another song that’s also coincidentally about a frog.
Without Love Nothing Is Real brings to the table a hint of Phil Collins and his memorable and catchy hooks, delivered here in the form of lines that repeat on the piano and a modulated guitar in this modal-sounding composition, and along with the vocals, the output is a charismatic and adventurous piece that defines a more accessible sound on this album. The heartfelt Warriors is next in line. Based on a soulful acoustic guitar part, this sweet and triumphant-sounding piece brings to mind some of Michael Jackson’s humanitarian songs with their empowering arrangements and simple compositions, and touching lyrics; Heal the World is an example.
The title song is a grand and progressive piece that rewards multiple listens. The retro-sounding synths are industrial and foreboding, and the distorted guitars introduce a brand-new color to the album. The album ends with another memorable piece of music, Babel. The song’s stirring melodies, interesting drum timbres, and touching composition all serve to make Babel a warm closer to bookend an album that varies greatly in concept and in execution.
C-Beem’s latest album excels on multiple fronts, and chief among those is its effortless variety. Each song easily stands on its own, but bringing them together serves to add an element of cohesion that helps most songs, but doesn’t fair that well on a few others that end up suffering from issues in pacing or a mix that just sounds too removed from its surroundings, and the excellent single Starships is one of those. Regardless, Jammin’ the Steam Towers is interesting to listen to, and that should not slip under the radar of lovers of Electronica and Synthpop.