Modern Talking, Blue System, C.C. Catch and many more – you just cannot deny that the music produced by Dieter Bohlen has had an amazing impact to the second half of the 1980’s and early 1990’s. While the bands still have a huge fan base in some parts of the world, Germany is rather critical with one of their biggest pop producers. With Cars & Brides, a new band wants to continue with this style of music, some three to four decades later. There are even some human links between the two acts. Their debut album is simply named The 1st Album and will be released on 29th February 2024.
Cars & Bridges – About The Artists
The first release of Cars & Brides has been released six years ago. At that time, the project released the single Ride in the Rain, in a set of eight different versions. The song can be found on The 1st Album as well as Midnight, which has been released in different versions in 2022 and 2023. These early releases partially worked with other lineups, though. The quartet is lead by singer Luca Soleil and Spanish Luis Rodriguez, who in fact worked with Dieter Bohlen as a co-producer. The two female singers are Nonie Jolie and Hannah Wilde. Apart from the typical Dieter Bohlen sound, the songs of the band also slightly remind of Italo pop.
Cars & Bridges – The 1st Album – Track by Track
The promo I received just had six songs, 27 minutes. The final album, for whatever reason comes with ten songs, 56 minutes. The additional songs are Hills, Cold as Ice, Popstar and One in a Million.
1. Sahara Nights
Come with me and close your eyes – I show you all the mystic lights are the first words of the album. What comes next is such a treat for fans of bands like Modern Talking or Blue Systems. Sahara Nights even comes with the alteration of “normal” vocals and the falsetto parts, which have been so characteristic to the music of Dieter Bohlen bands. This also includes that the song as such is a bit of thin in the lyrics. But hey, we did not care about that four decades ago as well. And you can sing the chorus in the second turn latest. This is what finally counts, ain’t it?
2. Midnight
The second track of the album is opening with stomping bass drums and a female voice stating I’m waiting for your call at midnight. The melodic song rather reminds me of the songs by C.C. Catch than Dieter Bohlen’s own projects. The song is so gorgeously repetitive, and catches you with its nostalgic groove.
3. Venus to Mars
According to the title of the third track, we are heading to space now. This time, the keyboard is rather in focus of the sound – apart from the stomping beats, of course. The song unfortunately underlines that the male vocal part is a bit of thin. But in the chorus latest, you simply forget about it. Marty McFly, did you park your DeLorean close to a sound studio? This would be a suitable explanation.
4. Rainbow in the Dark
If you would play the first notes of Rainbow in the Dark to a person who is not that deep into the whole discography of Modern Talking – I am sure this person would swear it is a song by the band. This also illustrates how iconic the songs by the Northern German producer finally have been (and still are). Luckily, the song creates some own character, especially due to the vocals and the chorus.
5. Ride in the Rain
One of the key rationales why the six track release is lasting 27 minutes are songs like Ride in the Rain. The song lasts 6:35 minutes. Part of that is a rather atmospheric intro, followed by the typical synth-pop sound. I just cannot stand to do the typical Dieter Bohlen stage moves. Bad luck that I am writing this review in a plane. Good luck that I use headphones. They feel I am mad, but I am just happy.
6. Italian Summer
The closing song Italian Summer is full of kitsch. While the vocals feel to fit even better to that mood, you need to be able to stand that level of soupiness. The wording Summer Italian in the chorus feels to follow the melody of the talking Italian part of Bananarama’s Robert De Niro’s Waiting a bit too closely, though.
Cars & Bridges – The 1st Album – Spotify
Here is the album on Spotify:
Cars & Bridges – The 1st Album – My View
This release is definitely a “love it or hate it” one. To make it short: I love it. It is full of nostalgia and never forgotten tunes and feelings. Thanks for this release, Cars & Brides.
Favorite Song: Midnight
The rating is based on the six track promo package I received.
Songs Of My Life
Here are the postings of the personal Songs Of My Life category:
Music Legends on Flyctory.com
Who belongs to the music legends? Here on Flyctory.com, it’s only me who decides on this: