I’m a huge fan of The Psychedelic Furs. And while sonically I prefer their earlier and later work and less keen on the slick Todd Rundgren produced AOR (by which I mean American Orientated Rock) / pop of the md-80s, Richard Butler will always stand as one of my favourite lyricists. Likewise, Leonard Cohen, and while the material and production of some of his albums since ‘I’m Your Man’ has fallen short, he remains one of those artists I hold in the highest esteem. So, that the new album by Mike Marlin – another artist I have a lot of time and admiration for – is pitched as being ‘Part Leonard Cohen’s ‘The Future’, part early Psychedelic Furs’, means it’s sealed my vote on its promise alone. And yes, Marlin delivers.
What does he deliver exactly? An album of quality, is what. An album that’s pretty bloody dark, is what. Mike Marlin has never been one for banging party tunes. He’s never been one of your conventional rock stars, either, only embarking on his music career proper at the age of 48. His previous three albums, ‘Nearly Man’, ‘Man on the Ground’, and ‘Grand Reveal’ have established him as a master of the downtempo anti-anthem, his lyrics and delivery characteristically forlorn, world-weary. But as ‘The Secret of My Success’, which continues the thematic of self-effacing, semi-ironic album titles reminds us, he’s also an excellent songwriter: musically and lyrically articulate, possessed of a dry wit and a knack for a lugubrious flourish.
‘Just Another Day’ gets the (funeral) party started. A slow march keeps the pace in check while feedback crawls over Marlin’s bleak Leonard Cohen-esque baritone. Strings sweep in and surge through a chorus worthy of Pulp.
‘Hope is a curse’ he growls on ‘The Secret’. ‘I wrote the book you threw back at me,’ he goes on to reflect, and it’s the pithy quality of his lyrics that really make this such a great album. In the hands of a lesser artist, it could very easily be an exercise in slow-paced wallowing introspection, but Marlin, if not exactly chuckleworthy, makes for an uplifting listen, because it’s hard not to be lifted by music that’s both moving and sharp.
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‘Avalanche’ isn’t a cover of the song from Leonard Cohen’s ‘Songs of Love and Hate’, but a downbeat piece that’s cold and stark, part ‘First We Take Manhattan’, part ‘Seventeen Seconds’ era Cure. ‘Don’t go places that I don’t know… look me in the eye’, he croons dryly, half pleading, half cautioning and with a vague hint of malice. The fact that there are multiple readings to his lyrics, which are only amplified in the delivery, is perhaps what’s most reminiscent of both Cohen and Butler, and the ambiguities and interprability of the lines necessitate repeat listening to the songs.
Closer ‘The Check Out’ finds Marlin reflecting on the ageing process with a disarming autobiographical honesty as he observes the folly of youth and contemplates not queueing in the supermarket, but the final checkout (although recent visits to my local Asda have made me wonder if I’ve already died and gone to hell).
‘The Secret of My Success’ is a great album. It’s an album through which the world-weary and well-worn voice of experience speaks, sagely, eloquently and honestly. And it’s a voice that deserves respect, and above all, to be listened to. While only time will tell if it’s a commercial success, it’s an indisputable success artistically at least.
Mike Marlin Online
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