Throughout though, the pop tinged vocal harmonies are what draws the Backstreet Boys comparison.
‘All To Myself ’ is an enjoyable slice of pop.
‘Cross My Heart,’ is another crunchy and catchy piece of Sum-41 style pop punk, with a neat guitar riff.
On the complete opposite end of the spectrum is a Hedley meets Backstreet Boys style power ballad ‘Beside You,’ which has some soaring vocal harmonies.
‘Masterpiece Theatre II’ is another soulful orchestral number while ‘Sing Sing’ is a more punk influenced catchy number with some orchestral vocal harmonies. ‘Celebrity Status’ is another catchy, more rock tinged number.
While the CD in general strays too far over the pop line for my tastes, there are some highlights, and you can’t knock those voices. You also can’t knock the production values. Rainee Maida (Our Lady Peace) lends his ear and touch to the CD as does David Genn (Matthew Good Band, 54-40).
The CD ends with an upbeat number which combines elements, riff, lyrics and titles from all the rest of the tracks on the CD in a grand orchestral grande finale in the highly orchestrated ‘Masterpiece Theatre III.
—By Richard Amery, L.A Beat Editor
CD: presents Masterpiece TheatreBand: Marianas Trench
Genre: pop
Record label: 604 Records