Released by: Dissonance Productions

Release Date: Out Now

Genre: Rock

Line-up:

Ekkis: guitar
Heidi, lead guitar
Minttu: bass
Niki: vocals
Niina: drums, bg vocals

Tracklist:

Intro 0:18
Diz-Funk-tional 3:11
Alive 4:43
Hangman’s Song 2:54
Made Of Scars 3:18
Innocent 3:46
Radio 3:24
On And On 3:26
Towers 2:57
Borrowed Time 4:27

When I saw the name Barbe-Q-Barbies I admit, I wasn’t prepared to take it seriously. Despite having already released a couple of albums, I’d never heard of them. I honestly didn’t have any preconceived notions about their sound, I just had a feeling it wasn’t going to be my thing. I wasn’t even entirely sure if it was an all-female group or just some oddball name. When I spun Borrowed Time that first time I was pleasantly surprised to discover that it is a damn serious album performed by some damn serious musicians (gender inconsequential.)

Right off from the first full track after an intro, “Diz-Funk-tional,” I realized the band play hard hitting rock music with a hard edge and some serious injection of melodicism that show perhaps some slight AOR/Melodic Hard Rock influence. The “Barbies” are very meat & potatoes about their songs: short, concise, nothing super fancy, just direct, pure, and catchy. I like the fact they can do a track like “Alive,” a soulful track instilled with a darker sound to the more upbeat “Made of Scars” that is an instantly memorable riff and vocal line you find yourself singing along to almost from the first listen.

I was drawn back to this album quite a few times since it fell into my hands, and the more familiar I became with Barbe-Q-Barbies’ Borrowed Time the more I really loved it. I didn’t have to put a lot of effort into determining whether I was enjoying it or not because each time I found something else that caught my ear and made me dig it a little more. Even with my leanings towards more complex music on my average listening day, even I can appreciate a band that is totally unabashed about being a rock band. I mean, I am a KISS fan after all. I give it 8 out of 10

Ratings: 8/10

Written by: Chris Martin

My Global Mind – Senior Staff Writer

Chris Martin is a US based writer for My Global Mind, with an interest in hard rock and heavy metal in all its forms. A heavy contributor to the site, his work largely covers album and gig reviews.

About Author

Erik DeViking

Erik De’Viking is a London based freelance music journalist. His musical interests include blues, rock, and metal in all its forms, and he is constantly on the lookout for new bands and genres to discover and later preach about to the masses.

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