1st Review of 2006, great to be back. What better way to start than with a very lively band called THE MARSHALS, and to be at this great small intimate venue made it all the better as well as the great company I was with.
This is a snappy. buzzcore 3 piece hailing from Ireland. Formed in Dublin in 2003, on the release of their 3rd demo they where offered a deal from Vertigo Records. This is a young band, but one that plays with a self-instilled maturity, a no-nonsense ideology for playing some decent, good old fashioned “swing yer leg rock n roll”. The more they played, the harder my heels stomped.
The band's hypothesis being along the lines of “What we do ain't Rocket Science, We want to make simple, fun,upbeat music with a bluesy feel to it” ensures it's refreshing music to hear. I only wish some other groups would take note.
On drums we have Barry Dillon, very precise and Blues-orientated (later I have found that he played in a few Blues Bands in Ireland before The Marshals), on bass is James O’Brien, a very self assured performer, impressive indeed. The singer is Michael John, he brought a very unique swagger to the performance, real strong commanding vocals, getting better as the gig proceeded. Overall it sounded more like a 6 piece band all having a right good tonk off.
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Asked “who do they sound like”? Well, there are snippets reminiscent of a few big artists, such as Beatles/Beck/Weezer, but on the whole The Marshals have their own sound. Many bands have tried to play the bluesy style, few have done it with any real conviction, but The Marshals are a definite exception: it seems like second nature to them as they swing through their set effortlessly.
They may owe a little to the Led Zep school of music, but Plant and co. would have been proud of these guys here tonight. A completely faultless display of rock-infused blues. I look forward to their next gig impatiently.
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