Marlowe - They Would've Hated You Anyway

  by Benjamin Howarth

published: 24 / 5 / 2003

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Review

As another god awful garage rock band forms (in a trendy club, of course, not a garage), what was vivid and exciting a year ago is a fad and music fans are searching for a new scene. Temporary comfort comes in the form of the new Radiohead record and in experimental indie bands seemingly designed with the intention of getting on the John Peel show and nowhere else, as the "mainstream" is ushered out of "our" music scene once again. Those once deemed hip are now hype. The new White Stripes album started out sounding great, but I’m already bored with it. The Yeah Yeah Yeah’s were different when I bought their EP last year, but if I bought their new record I’d never play it. The Ataris are perfect but not cool. My dissatisfaction with the alternative music scene is demonstrated by my CD player which is doing a rotation of Ben Folds Five, early Elton John, mid-period Pink Floyd, the Paul McCartney live album and Something Corporate. Until garage rock goes, I’ll keep right out of it thanks. Give me someone who can actually sing and whose lyrics make me think and maybe even make me smile! And as all this goes on, some people remain utterly oblivious. It’s long since stopped being cool to sound like Belle and Sebastian (I think, though since I don’t read it I’m not sure, that in NME land it’s even stopped being cool to BE Belle and Sebastian), but this record by Marlowe sounds a lot like Belle and Sebastian. Not enough to be a rip off, but enough to make me remember how happy I was when I first heard them. Now, some people got that buzzy feeling from the White Stripes, but I’m pretty sure there are plenty that didn’t. If you’re someone who wishes it were still 1998, when a twee indie band could get controversy from merely not doing interviews, then this is the record for you. It sounds unashamedly old fashioned, unashamedly gentle. It’s music made by the sort of people that prefer coffee to beer and that would never consider smoking pot, my sort of people. Okay, this is isn’t very “Rock ‘n’ Roll”, but when it comes down to it, people that are “Rock ‘n’ Roll” tend to also be terribly boring to talk to. So, I suppose after two paragraphs you’re probably wondering who the hell this band are that are going to save me from all this garage rock tosh, that are going to make me reminisce about a time I’m sure I hated when I was there. Well, sorry. You’re going have to go on wondering. I’ve been on the website that is given on the inlay sleeve and there are some reviews of this CD on one page, but Marlowe isn’t even listed on the bands section. I haven’t a clue who they are. They may have something to do with another band called Garfield’s Daughter, but then again they might not. It’s all a little mysterious, but pretty damned exciting as well! This is a review of the record by the band that doesn’t actually exist. Perhaps Marlowe actually LIVE in YOUR street. Wow! Just imagine…….! However, this is one of the quietest records I have ever heard in my entire life, so chances are that even if they do, you wouldn’t know. But this is far from the "jingle-jangle, half a tune, mumbled vocals and, shit, we have a single out guys" affair that often calls itself twee. There are some lovely tunes (once they’ve sunken in, which I’ll have to admit, takes a while), and some intricate guitar lines and a little experimentation. I wouldn’t go as far as to call it "challenging" – I used to get excited when I heard that word in a record review but I’ve had enough of it of late – but it’s good headphone music, the stuff you listen to intently in the dark but not what you’d bash out loud on the stereo. And it’s got noticeably cheap packaging. It’s about as indie as indie could possibly get. But I really like it an awful lot, and I bet you would too.

Track Listing:-

1 Hey Sunshine
2 Change Of Idiot
3 Cycle Like Mercy
4 Hometime
5 A Blow For Charity
6 Bachelor Pad
7 Two Day Affair
8 A Line To Say Goodbye
9 Paperboy's Rare Sunshine
10 Victor Mature
11 What Did I See In You?
12 Mutiny

Label Links:-

http://www.pinkhedgehog.com/
https://en-gb.facebook.com/Pink-Hedgeh
http://www.last.fm/label/Pink+Hedgehog
https://www.youtube.com/user/PinkHedge