Marah

Rockabilly folk-punk through and through! Although fun and energetic, the disc can sometimes come across as a bit too similar – no more than two real discernable tracks, which is too bad, Marah definitely has the skills.

‘City of Dreams’ has a nice late-60s/early-70s folkiness to it, which is quite refreshing. ‘Out of Tune’ is a nice ballad-like folk tune that’s a real welcome change to the oft-repetitive nature to I You Don’t Laugh You’d Cry, the band’s fifth album.

But you have to admire this band for having a ton of guts (something most punk bands have) because Marah’s tale is a perfect carbon copy of so many indie bands: recording on broken gear, playing hundreds of shows in as many places, some self-produced releases and at least one big name producer attached to one album. The band has their indie bases covered.

If nothing else, this is a collection of the band’s “most personal, introspective songs to date”, and all of them recorded in one or two takes live in the studio. The live feel is all over this release, which makes it infectious even if the songs almost all sound the same.