Welsh or Greek. Whatever her origins, Marina and the Diamonds is the latest in a host of female fronted Indie outfits that are fearlessly infiltrating the alternative music scene and being greeted with much excitement.
Marina, the one-woman band, could have been the implausible love child of Florence Welsh and Kate Bush with her intoxicating vocal prowess and eccentric musical structure.
Obsessions, her debut single, is a three minute ode to the intensity of being in love with someone who is as temperamental as they are bad for you. Lyrics like /Wont you quit your crying I can’t sleep/ one minute I’m little sweetheart and next minute you are an absolute creep/ make lyrical comparisons to the likes of Kate Nash unavoidable as her “realness” makes her similarly endearing.
With her hopes already set on America and MTV Awards, the 23 year old is refreshingly open about her ambitions and determination. This self belief teamed with the topicality and relevance that Marina exudes, means that as with her label mates, Passion Pit, 2009 looks set to be an exciting year for our new favourite female songstress.
/I sit around in my pyjamas/ Eating pear drops and stringing up conkers/ And if I want to feel something I stick pencils up my nose/ I just want to change the world in whatever little way that I can/ With lyrics like this, The Boy Least Likely To seem to be the men most likely to melt the hearts of Indie scenesters all over the country, with their second album release entitled ‘The Law of the Playground’.
Combining instrumentals that are reminiscent of the likes of Badly Drawn Boy had the beanie-toting band had all the endearing zest for life and upbeat ethos’ of The Beatles. Whilst far from as classic as the latter, their chirpy melodies and cheerful harmonies make summertime toe-tapping an unavoidable inevitability of the band’s newest album.
Combining pop, indie and folk, the two-piece consisting of Jof Owen and Pete Hobbs, have endured a pretty bumpy ride to before the release of this thirteen-track treat. With it initially due out in the summer, Owen and Hobbs took their finished album to their record label last year, only to find it was no longer in existence. The band then spent the next few months writing new songs and tweaking their album before its release early this month.
The result; an album with more real depth and emotion than may have prevailed, had the band not hit such walls along the way. Having already toured with Razorlight, fans of the likes of The Shins and afore mentioned should definitely step into the world of The Boy Least Likely To, it looks set to get rather crowded.
Don’t let the adjective fool you, Bonnie Prince Billy really isn’t very bonnie, but he is pretty bloody good. Infusing folk, country and rock, Will Oldham, the mastermind behind the outfit, brings his established fan base a fourth album.
The album mirrors an array of emotions that don’t always translate into vocabulary as easily for the rest of us as they seem to for Oldham, something that is no doubt a result of an innate talent and years of musical experience.
Traditional country tracks such as “Beware Your Only Friend” emulate provocative lyrics like /Watch out for these empty thoughts/ that’s where the seeds of soul sucking grows/ in a way that interrupts and penetrates the listener’s deepest thoughts.
Similarly, tracks like “There is Something I Have to Say” have a more unique blues style and in turn make Bonnie Prince Billy’s heart felt lyrical pleas pluck at the heart strings of anyone who has ever had their heart broken. This combination makes a rather niche genre accessible and refreshingly enjoyable for a more extensive audience.
Though, throughout the course of the thirteen tracks, the average non-country music fan may start to find the tales of loss and depravation a tad draining, Oldham’s musical ability is far from disputable.
Admittedly, Bonnie Prince Billy’s new album will not be the next must-have for fans of mainsteam Ting Tings and whatever else is deemed ‘alternative’ this month, but a refreshing step back from computer-manipulated music and encouraging the broadening of musical tastes is far from a bad thing and something that Oldham effortlessly advocates.
