If Camacho has any particular problem it is that he seems to be in search of a musical identity. On "Urgent," he sounds as if he is attempting to duplicate an imagined duet between Bono and REM's Michael Stipe. What is interesting here is that he manages to carry it off while leaving behind the pretentious obnoxiousness which has permeated the work of both of those gentlemen for the past several years. "This Love Is Hard, " along with most of the tracks on TROUBLE DOLL, seems to be steeped in the New Romantic movement which rock in the United States flirted with briefly in the 1980s. The exception to this is the title track, a damn near perfect tribute to the woman you can't, and don't, want to be with, but can't live without. The standout on the CD, however, is "Looking at the Sun," a dreamy but uneasy tune with the haunting refrain "everything was going just fine/now you've got me changing my mind." While Camacho's melodies may occasionally be a little on the wrong side of sub-par on tracks such as "Love" and "Disregard," his lyrics are always digging surface of relationships, peeking around the corners of what men and women do with and to each other. He, and TROUBLE DOLL, are worth a listen for that reason alone.

If your idea of the south Florida rock scene begins with Gloria and ends with Estefan, TROUBLE DOLL will help to turn that impression around. Camacho seems to have been more influenced by murky rock clubs and brooding relationships than by sun, sand, surf, and salsa. And, in balance, that seems like a good thing. He reportedly has a full-length project due out early in 2002. His work on TROUBLE DOLL makes that worth a listen.