The Grouchy Gaijin's Thoughts on Music and Such

Back in August I got an e-mail that said “Marvin Marvin is who we are. Check us out.”

Succinct and to the point, I like that.

Well here it is November and I am just now getting around to checking them out.

They have a couple of links on the web.

http://www.marvinmarvin.com/ is their homepage. They also have a spot on My Space

The My Space page lists this about the band “FAMOUS UNKNOWN SUPER FRESH MAXI KOOL FRENCH INDIE ROCK POWER POPOPOP BAND” Normally that kind of BS description would really put me off. However the next part intrigued me.

MarvinMarvin has no age, no look, no disguise, no makeup, no record label, no booking agent, no distribution deal, no promoter, no manager, but songs ! We are not a band but a concept...

I thought that's pretty cool (except for the last part which smacks of pompous narcissistic crap – Did I mention they are French?). So I clicked the music player on the My Space page and frankly was blown away.

These guys rock! I still think they take the whole intellectual bohemian thing a bit too seriously but they ARE French. What you gonna do? Their music however, and that is what it is all about, is very good!

They have a talent for mixing the soft and very loud to make some really interesting songs. Every song on both the EP and album includes a killer jam. This is usually wrapped around some fairly soft melodic sections before they pull out the stops.

The band is tight. Their drummer can pound – more than once I found myself thinking “Oh THAT was nice!” The same can be said for the bass player. The man has soul. Every song has a rock solid bottom with occasional outbursts of bass runs. The guitars are simply killer – they can play well.

I dig the keys, but I really like the violin. Thrash Punk tendencies with a well played violin thrown into the mix – I love it.

Even the singer's voice sounds cool although at times it sounds a bit off. I mean that in a good way. I'm reminded of Iggy Pop or even Bon Scott (although the music is not like ACDC). What I mean is you get the sense that the dude is a ballsy individualist who doesn't really care if he hits every note or pronounces words so that the listener can understand them – HE is having a good time.

I could go through all the songs on both the EP and the album Magazine but why not download them for yourself? The EP is here and the album is here. Check out the songs, Clockworks (video below) and Freewheel. While I actually like every song on both the EP and album these two standout.

Grouch rating 4 Scowls

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