"C-Beem casts a light on the future present through the ‘Neon’ of a future past.
British neo-synthpop practitioner C-Beem (Chris Mills) has earned a loyal global following for his meticulously crafted brand of 80s-flavoured electronic pop. Rock At Night, having a soft spot for this vintage of pop music, has reviewed a number of his prior releases. On his latest release, “Neon Gods”, C-Beem again crafts a confection whose evocative electro textures and phrasing anchor memorable tunes in your ears. Listen to the production and you’ll hear echoes of Ultravox, Tears For Fears, & Simple Minds—sounds that harkened the future once upon a time. Not willing to settle, however, for an ordinary exercise in period nostalgia, C-Beem arouses our ears’ memories of this once future to frame examination of our current one. And it is here that he makes his mark, the characters and scenes of his tracks sharing timely stories of delusion and folly (“Tin Foil Hat”) and a disappointing future that’s now arrived but isn’t what was promised (the cinematic “Tumbleweed In Tinseltown” and “Ed Straker Future”)."
Vox Count, Rock At Night Magazine

“East Midlands artist C-Beem aka Chris Mills has been putting out a lot of cool and diverse material over recent times so it is great that he ends a fruitful 2021 by releasing the album Neon Gods. It is an album that showcases Chris’s skills as primarily a composer of synthwave and cinematic Pop albeit with room for a range of influences. Opener Tumbleweed in Tinseltown matches a story-telling lyric to a melodic, major key slice of Synth-driven Pop with crisp beat, appealing melody and sweet, slightly wobbly argpeggio keyboard figures. Some interesting changes add to the song’s strength. Angel Hill and Half Past Five both have a strong 80s infusion, syncopated basslines and bright synths set against minor key melody; switching between single and multi-tracked vocals with smart use of octaves to emphasise hooks.
Tin Foil Hat is a track I am familiar with, nodding here to Kraftwerk while the lyrics are clever and sardonic. Eno, despite its title, is not a slowly building slice of electronic ambience but an uptempo busy Synth Pop track with a semi-Gothic vocal. Shades of Blancmange in a mash with Hot Chip. Ed Straker Future is another familiar track, utilising a piano figure that could almost be Hall & Oates jamming with Scissor Sisters while there is a Bowie-esque tinge to the vocals. Recent single Monkey Puzzle Tree is dynamic and modern, buoyant synth chords, solid tough beat and an appealing melody.
We get a change of mood with Sweet Song, intertwining synths playing arpeggios, melody lines and long tones with a semi-drone bass effect while Chris’s vocals have an anthemic quality in the hook and the verses recall Bowie in Let’s Dance era. It has a particularly likeable melody and the combination of textures is highly effective. Then we are into funkier territory with New Walk which kicks off like Cabaret Voltaire in Crackdown era until Chris’s harmony-adorned vocals take into poppier waters. This is like a Synth Pop take on Americana. Very nice. It ends with recent single When the light takes them. Again, there is a Bowie feel about the vocals while the echoing synth chords hint at Chvrches or Ladytron. The feel is smouldering, slow-burning, a tribal beat and single chords dominating the backdrop while the vocals convey a passion for his question ‘Where do they go?’ to be answered. There is a lovely synth-strings melody in the mid-section that leads into a brief moment of just the exposed beat. Then more echoing synth chords begin a build-up of textures towards another emotionally-charged chorus. As it fades out on long synth tones, we are left with the feeling that Chris has been patiently building this collection, showing his versatility and ensuring it utilises his best tracks. Great to hear it.”
Neil March, Trust The Doc Reviews

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