CD REVIEW: GRAPHIC FICTION HEROES – Dreams Of A Libertine EP

Shane | 16 June 2017 | Reply

CD REVIEW: GRAPHIC FICTION HEROES – Dreams Of A Libertine EP
Independent
May 2017
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
9/10

Chris Gibbs – long a craftsman of songs in his native Western Australia – has no international smash hits to his name: a sad indictment of the sorry state of the music industry, rather than any reflection on his abundant talent.

Graphic Fiction Heroes is his power pop band, a journey into more riff-heavy hyper-melodic rock and roll than his solo outings: think Cheap Trick, Enuff Z’Nuff, or KISS’s poppier moments for a reference point.

Four of the five tracks here are written in collaboration with drummer Matt Ferguson – Bundle Of Joy is Ferguson’s own loving tribute to the excitement and delight of becoming a father – and the input leads the band to their distinctive sound, standing out from the recent Chris Gibbs & The Transmission EP, reviewed HERE.

The Dream chronicles a love of the bright lights and incandescent stars of stage and screen delightfully; Our Libertine (the only track here solely written by Gibbs) reinforce’s the singer/guitarist’s talent as a lyricist, with a cheeky tale of a woman hell bent on fun without thought of consequences; and Vicious Valentine – released as a digital single last year, which also gets a co-write credit for former bassist Gareth Hughes – is a KISS/Enuff Z’Nuff styled stomper that is a high note to finish the EP on.

The cover deserves special note of its own accord: crafted by Lee Stokes – who also did the latest Enuff Z’Nuff cover – it includes elements from all five songs, and evokes another dimension to the release.

Dreams Of A Libertine is another fine, world-class release from Gibbs and his Noise-A-Thon Records, and deserves international notice and recognition. Don’t take my word for it – listen and decide for yourselves.

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