Marlin’s Dreaming
Quotidian (MD)
First track, ‘Cabbage Tree’, is a dead ringer for Depeche Mode’s ‘Policy Of Truth’.
It has the same fine, sharp and bitter edge of revenge. It also makes a really good job of dragging Kraftwerk into the hip-hop age. Tension does sometimes explode and it is all the more exciting when it does so.
In-between, there are plenty of islands of calm and melancholy. Then there are some quite rocky bits, mainly on tracks like ‘Lick The Brains’ – an album standout.
There’s also ‘Mr. Sun’, which sounds a bit like Queen and The Pet Shop Boys having a spontaneous jam. They also have Queen’s fantastic way with a hook, as the repetitive riffs of ‘Outwards Crying’ and ‘Colourful Disarray’ show.
This, then, is both a very accurate commentary on our times, as well a thoroughly enjoyable listen.