BBMak's Sooner or Later
by Jeannie Hernandez
The 1990s have left behind several dark memories: hairspray abuse, a billion dollar market in the form of girl-fans, and a label that still lives on today- “boy band”. Though the term band is defined as “a group who unites as an ensemble (vocals and instruments)”, it has been used to categorize untalented, solely vocal groups such as N*SYNC. But out of the ashes of those burnt times comes a true “boy band”- BBMak - a trio of English accented, clean cut guys who play instruments and soothe their listeners with their subliminal messages of love and short-term relationships.
BBMak and their British roots have the energy and the capacity that surpasses anything that’s considered “popular” in America, but it seems that talent is tasteless in our girly society. Obviously looks are, too, because these three boys have nice bodies and faces… they’re magnetic! - Making their American counterparts look like weathered middle-aged guys trying to attract adolescent girls.
They met in Northwest England while playing in different bands. Soon after they assembled themselves, they had the biggest record companies in Great Britain at their fingertips in 1998 when they signed with Telstar records at a Liverpool concert. The band released their international debut, Sooner or Later , this year and has gained a potent fan-base in America. Members are Christian Burns (who recently appeared on an episode of the ABC soap opera All My Children), 23, Mark Barry and Ste (Steven) McNally, both 20. Their album is a flurry of sweet melodies and boyish insecurities that combine into a great mixture of what the band calls “the Backstreet Boys and the Goo Goo Dolls.” As a music critic, I was amazed that there was never a dull moment on the album, even during the first listen. The boys’ irresistible voices and innocent phrases were so charming that I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by their magic.
The album reaches its climax when the chanting, melancholy song “Ghost of You and Me” floats through the listener’s mind and into an exhibition of celestial seduction and bliss. The harmonies are extraordinary, and the effort the boys put into this lyrically captivating mantras adds fuel to the fire. “Seen a lot of broken hearts go sailing by… phantom ships, lost at sea, and one of them is mine,” Burns’ husky, moving voices sings out over a dusty array of guitar chords.
One joke made against many “boy bands” is that they never write their own songs. BBMak not only solve the instrument criticism but the song-writing one as well. Of the twelve songs on their album they wrote or co-wrote seven of them, including their hit “Back Here”, which has electrified American airwaves with its cheery simplicity.
BBMak… ahhh a sigh flows over the room and their songs easily make a fan out of everyone who’s anyone and that’s everyone! With their looks, talent, and English accents, all I have to ask is- what’s not to like?
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