Reviewed by Mitch Andrews and posted on June 8, 2013

The much anticipated comeback album of Banaroo, "Bubblegum World," has hit the shelves! Aptly titled, "Bubblegum World" marks the first album of the new Banaroo line up, which includes completely new members and (assumably) new producers. The album features 3 original songs, but focuses on remaking past Banaroo and bubblegum dance hits.

The first track, and debut single from the album, "Dubi Dam Dam" is of course a remake of Banaroo's hit song by the same name. With new vocals and a slightly different spin on the production, "Dubi Dam Dam 2013" is a good remake. I enjoyed the horn sounding instrument in the radio mix which gives the song a more dramatic appeal, and the "voices" style breakdown at the end of the song was also a nice touch. "Sing & Move" and "Space Cowboy" are also good covers of older Banaroo songs, though only slightly different to the original in terms of production and singing.

"Spirit of the Hawk" is the first original song on the album, and reminds me a lot of "Kamboleo (The Drums of Africa)" by Se-Side, a short-lived bubblegum dance pop group from Germany. "Spirit of the Hawk" is one of the highlights of the album, and if Banaroo was to produce a second album I would recommend they focus on making more original songs rather than covers of past hits. The German have a real talent for writing catchy pop music, and I would really love to hear more original songs on this album. However, in saying that, the other two original songs included, "Closer" and "Sometimes," are in my opinion, forgettable. While the vocals in "Closer" are nice, the production style feels all over the place and doesn't really fit with the rest of the album.

I was really excited when I heard Banaroo would be covering Me & My's hit song "Dub-i-Dub." Not only is "Dub-i-Dub" a great song, it's one of the first bubblegum dance songs ever, and the fact that Banaroo chose to cover it on an album called "Bubblegum World" was just delicious. While the remake isn't bad, it definitely doesn't live up to the original, possibly due to the singers occasional struggle with some of the high notes in the song. However, "Dub-i-Dub" is definitely worth a listen and I give props to Banaroo for covering it.

Now to tackle some of the less impressive tracks. Like Dub-i-Dub, I was really excited to hear Banaroo's take on Aqua's hit song "Cartoon Heroes," which has become a bubblegum anthem in its own right. However, "Cartoon Heroes" fails to deliver. The production is weak in comparison to Johnny Jam & Delgado's thumping original, and the vocalists of Banaroo sound like they are really struggling to breath when singing the verses leading up to the chorus. A similar review can be said for "Around The World (La La La)" (originally by ATC) - the singing and production lacks luster and passion. I think remaking "Around The World" was an odd choice, especially considering it has already been remade by a German bubblegum group "BeFour." The choice to remake "Blue (Da Ba De)" by Eiffel 65 was also interesting. The song was also remade a couple of years ago by another German pop group called Jamatami, although not so successfully. Of the two remakes, I feel that Banaroo's cover is the better version, and the harder production style they have chosen tends to work with the song. The vocoder male vocals sound a little dodgy hear and there, but overall the song isn't too bad.

On a more positive note, the remake of Yoomiii's "Gimme, Gimme, Gimme" is very good, with strong production and good vocals. This song is easily a highlight on the album for me. Another reasonably good cover is that of Ch!pz's "1001 Arabian Nights." The song sounds almost identical to the original in terms of structure, with only a few slight changes in production. Overall, a good attempt, and definitely one of the better bubblegum dance covers on the album.

Concluding this review, "Bubblegum World" is a very important release for bubblegum fans all over the world. Not only does it mark the return of Banaroo, but it is also the first bubblegum dance album to be released in over a year. The album presents itself as a tribute to bubblegum dance music, which they have delivered through covers of popular bubblegum dance songs, including remakes of original Banaroo songs. I feel that in some of the songs, the members could have been trained better vocally, particularly in Cartoon Heroes and Around the World, but the concept of a bubblegum-themed album is fantastic, and in terms of keeping the genre alive and putting these great songs back in the spotlight, Banaroo has met their target. If the producers read this review, I would suggest for future releases they should focus on a more advanced production style, taking note of past bubblegum eurodance productions, and to move away from remaking old hits, unless they are not well known and could be improved dramatically. Remaking 60's bubblegum pop songs would also be a good idea, and it has been done successfully already by artists such as Zynergy ("Wig Wam Bam" by The Sweet) and Evelyn ("Moviestar" by Harpo). The German are incredibly talented at writing catchy pop music, as they have portrayed again and again with similar pop groups such as BeFour, Jamatami and Cherona, and I think the new Banaroo should utilize this, and create more original fast paced dance songs like "Spirit of the Hawk." In terms of production, the music is lacking real depth on this album, and I would highly recommend Na Klar! consider taking on board producers such as Hartmann & Langhoff, Honeycutt, Michael Skouboe (Longhorn), and Johnny Jam & Delgado, who's knowledge of bubblegum dance production goes back to its origin in 1995.

The new members of Banaroo look very promising, and with a bit more planning and work, the next Banaroo release should be amazing!