 Marigold
"Half-Winter, Half-Spring in the Unreal City" CD
Self-released
Genres: indie pop, indie rock
Jan 10 - 16 2005 |
One of the best parts of being a liberal-format music reviewer is the
chance to discover wonderful self-released albums like this. Marigold
is the type of experience that every adventurous listener loves to come
across; the band, consisting of principal songwriter/performer Brian
Cassidy and a rotating cast of friends, is a sweet, melodic pop
outfit that mixes pure creativity
with a distinct accessibility. Half-Winter, Half-Spring in
the Unreal City is a very impressive album, filled with a solid,
consistent track listing of successful songs. Half-Winter's focus is on sweet, lush pop music, and its
best songs fall under that category. "Opening Song"
and "Trying to Keep the Cicadas Away" are adorably catchy
successes, while "These Are Your Complaints" is a monumental,
impossibly infectious tune that will drop you into a state of pure
bliss in no time. Occasionally, Marigold experiments with
some different styles: "Dia de los Muertos" and
"Tequila Bomb" try out a more aggressive, energetic sound (the former is a tad flat),
"Thanks Elsie" is a howling,
emotional ode, and "Osaka Blues" is an instantly memorable
blues-pop number with guest female vocals. But amidst all the
diversity, the key to this record is pure accessibility - few bands
can even touch this type of extreme catchiness. I love it, and
you will too.
87%
Matt Shimmer [Vitals:
11 tracks, distributed by the
band, released 2004] |
