Goodbye Thrill Outrageous
by Derric Miller
Staff Writer
Singer/songwriter/guitarist Marco Ferreira, the extremely prolific mind behind Goodbye Thrill, is back at it again. His solo album Working Overtime and then the recent release of the band that bears his name (Ferreira’s Better Run) didn’t keep him busy enough to stop him from writing an entire album worth of material for the new Goodbye Thrill. Music pours out of Ferreira — it’s like he can’t help himself — and his separate projects don’t bear a lot in common sonically with each other. Goodbye Thrill is the Danger Danger or Bon Jovi-influenced, more radio-friendly Hard Rock version of Ferreira’s writing that creates one anthem after another, with “Outrageous” being one of the best songs recorded this year.
A thumping groove slams into you on track one, “Black Book,” and lyrically, this track is acidic. It’s an anti-love song, with Ferreira singing, “It’s not the love I miss the most, but all the time I wasted with you!” Although guitarist Dean Kramer (Funny Money) wasn’t part of the band this time around, newcomer Chuck Beckman shines in his rhythmic role as Ferreira handles most of the solos and leads. It’s literally a funny song, because you know it had to be penned with someone in mind.
If you like Enuff Z’ Nuff, then “Bride to Be” will catch your ear. Polished, flowing and immeasurably melodic, Ferreira just has his finger on the pulse of hit making. You start to get a common theme as “Bride to Be” is once again a song about love gone rotten, especially with the strong lyric of “She never knew she was just for rent.” It gets even bleaker at the end of the song as Ferreira croons, “With a little less hope, she’ll see she’s still got her future in her hands.” That’s a pretty biting dissection of the human condition, all wrapped around a poppy Rock song!
“Scumbag” is when the gloves come off a bit more aurally, a faster, heavier song that Goodbye Thrill can play just as expertly as the slower songs. While one of the best songs musically, the lyrics go off into a nonsensical arena with lines like, “Chewing another sugar free gum until I’m ready to make a move.” It sounds better when you hear it, though. Ferreira’s solo almost become bluesy, a bit more gritty and determined then his earlier solos, giving this already potent song a little more venom.
The first mid-tempo, near ballad is “Talk About It.” Dario Seixas on bass pulls the softer segments of the song along, playing with a sensual gallop, and the backing vocals on the chorus are immense. Like a Def Leppard multi-harmony chorus, that’s what you get here on “Talk About it.”
When the track “Outrageous” begins, you can hear the talented Alex Ferreira take the reigns on drums and add his machinelike flare to the unit. “Outrageous” is the fastest and heaviest track on the album, and it burns. While on some songs the music is there, but the lyrics are a bit off, or vice versa, this composition is damn near perfect. The chunky rhythms and bass turn the song nearly violent, and Ferreira’s powerful and soaring vocals on the chorus are his highlight on the entire album. They were right to name the album thusly.
Outrageous closes with “You’re My Cure,” and the song was written by Seixas, who also handles lead vocals on the track. Seixas definitely knows exactly the kind of music Goodbye Thrill should record, and his vocal style is comparable to Ferreira, although he doesn’t seem to flaunt the same vocal range. It’s a strong contribution to the draw of Outrageous, and you can see the band starting to mesh overall.
Like all Kivel Records releases, the artwork is creative and attention to detail is job one. The cover features a young Evil Knievel-like stunt child sitting atop an outlandishly large piece of dynamite, like the kid is riding a rocket. When you open the CD liner, black smoke, orange and golden-edge flames greet you as the stunt kid is making a hand motion akin to “my work is done here.” Even the band members are partially aflame, like their “fuses” have been lit. Along with the production efforts by Ferreira himself, there’s nothing to not love about Outrageous.
Online: http://www.myspace.com/goodbyethrill
Band:
Marco Ferreira (vocals, guitars)
Chuck Beckman (guitar, vocals)
Dario Seixas (bass, vocals)
Alex Ferreira (drums, vocals)
Track listing:
1. Black Book
2. Bride To Be
3. Scumbag
4. Talk About It
5. Disposable
6. Don’t Want To Miss A Thing
7. Outrageous
8. Case Of Mondays
9. So Unpredictable
10. Work It Out
11. You’re My Cure
Genre: Melodic Rock
Hardrock Haven Rating: 8/10