Marbin – Aggressive Hippies Album Review

admin — Fri, 06 Nov 2015 21:23:06 +0000

Chicago fusionists Marbin know a good thing when they see, hear and smell it. Having played happenings in almost every zone possible (except possibly the aquatic one) and knocking them out with their tracks, it seemed the time was neigh to try and capture the live feel on wax. A live album collected from desk mixes? That sounds so decades ago. How about just setting up in a room somewhere and turning it to twelve? Twelve is after all louder than eleven.

Aggressive Hippies (great album title by the way) rocks like a room full of well, aggressive hippies hopped up on famer’s finest gramercy green and does it ever pin the lobes back. Six string situationist Dani Rabin does his best to herd all the audio elephants in the room together and comes up trumpets.

Danny Markovitch fills the saxtoon with lashings of drool inducing freakuencies that stitch together the aural tapestry while Greg Essig (skins) and John W. Lauter (low notes) do their best to hang on. Their monkey grip is impressively adhesive.

Nine moments in time make up the magic number and constant application has raised a few tempers and pulses. The tweeters are shooting out sparks of intent; the mids are anything but mild and the woofers are biting both ankles. I like mine with a little anarchy and this spice is right.

Rob Hudson
www.marbinmusic.com

Marbin – Last Chapter Of Dreaming Album Review

admin — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 20:22:23 +0000

After almost 55 minutes of glorious weirdness, one has to come to the conclusion that Marbin are really on to something, no make that really on something! This is music as a sensory overload intoxicant.

From the spaghetti western feel of Breaking The Cycle to the cinematic shuffle of On The Square or even the daytime television cheese of Café de Nuit these crazy cats know how to conjure up a vivid experience.

With impeccable influences and moments like the eighties era King Crimson riff that opens the track Inner Monologue or the Dixie Dregs hoe-down meets Zappa wah-wah of Redline these Chicagonians also demonstrates a tip of the director’s hat to some of the forbearers to all this fun.

To just say they are great players is an undersell, it’s their sense of scope and humour that really sets them apart. Inebriated with a sense of musical adventure, Marbin want us to join their trip. Count me in.

Rob Hudson
www.marbinmusic.com

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Marbin – Aggressive Hippies Album Review

Marbin – Last Chapter Of Dreaming Album Review