REVIEWS
1998
Q (October) - THE PROGRAM
How did it all come down to this? Stadium rock gods in waiting, 'the new Joy Division', even Marion were a band that promised something beyond the drudgery of minor indie star ambitions. A tumultuous past two years, partly due to the singer Jamie Harding's well-documented personal problems, means their second album has been a long time coming. The Program has squeezed into the shelves with little fanfare and it's a frustrating experience, reflecting it's painful creation. As with the debut album, This World And Body, The Program finds Marion seeking an escape from the evils of the world but equally from the brain numbing normality of concesus indie rock. The problem is they are too content to ape their heroes rather than take their shared ideals and create something new. So on What Are we Waiting For? and Strangers, Marion pick the bones from Radiohead's table when they should be laying claim to the throne. They prove they are capable of better things with the epic opening sweep of The Smile and the ragged, tumbling blast of All Of These Days. The ultimate frustration of The Program is that it neither scoops you up to a higher plane, nor leaves you confused and unsettled. Instead, it's a reasonable album from a better-than-average indie band.
CITY LIFE (October) - THE PROGRAM click here for full picture/review
SELECT (May) - THE PROGRAM click here for full picture/review
FHM (May) - THE PROGRAM click here for full review
N.M.E (February) - MIYAKO HIDEAWAY
You have the sneaking suspicion that Marion's brand of windswept drama rock may never quite captivate the public sufficiently to match their epic ambitions. This first offering from the new album looks unlikely to change that. Which is not to say that this is not a perfectly fine Marion record, all yearning emotion and a tune that could stay in your head for weeks, but somehow you doubt it's going to turn anyone new to the Marion cause.
1996
The Musician (April) - THIS WORLD AND BODY
Here is a group with the big guitar chops but Jamie Harding - who pours his heart into every performance - will be the real star to watch in 96.
RAW (March) - THIS WORLD AND BODY - click here for full picture/review
Select (March) - THIS WORLD AND BODY - click here for full picture/review
Q (March) - THIS WORLD AND BODY
Harding, the 20 year old singer, has a vocal style that embraces the breathey bards of U2 and Suede, the guitars sweep satisfyingly from the jangly to the jagged.
Melody Maker - (March) - THIS WORLD AND BODY
Think the desperation and opening up of possibilities that early U2 - engendered - the knowledge that certain songs will acompany you around the world, thes songs sound - strained, thrashing attempts to make songs as wide and wild as the sky.
N.M.E (March) - THIS WORLD AND BODY
Remember
a time when rock bands thought 'ironic' was rhyming slang for
what they put in their gin? When words like 'passion' and 'commitment'
weren't critisisms? When the clenched fist was a more knowing
rock mannerism then the knowing wink?
You don't? Well it's hardly surprising. After all, even Bono,
once the Not- At- All- Archbishop of rock realism, was last
spotted as Beelzebub, making prank 'phone calls to the white
house. The berk. Macclesfield's finest, Marion,
however despite being so young it's a wonder they can remember
the New Wave of sodding New Wave, are the one current 'happening'
UK guitar band with no time for knowing winks. Or cunning retro
steals. Or even a carefully contrived interview technique. They
are, in fact, the band Britpop forgot. ...But, if this debut
album is anything to go by, they're also one of the few current
contenders who'll be remembered after a New Yank Skiffle (or
whatever) torpedoes the Good Ship Mixer and sinks all who flail
in her. Because 'This World And Body'
is clearly a desperate attempt to mean something in an age where
everyone's soundbyte is worse then their bark. By and large, it
succeeds. Steaming straight in with the riff-strewn glory of 'Fallen
Through', it's a frantic album that lasts
for 45 minutes but seems to zip past in no time at all. In terms
of pitch it is almost absurdly crammed with peaks. But so what?
Troughs are for pigs, right kids? Of course, sometimes Marion
go over the top. But when they do it's in a heroic, World War One
sort of way rather then a pompous arse, look- at- me- I'm- waving-
a white- flag- at- Wembley sort of way. And that's what makes Marion's
flirtation with stadium rock dynamics (as in Radiohead rather
then Simple Minds, thankfully) so attractive. Because as Jaime
spits the lines "If you believe your dreams will come true/
Then sleep is all you'll ever do" In 'Sleep', it's clear
that this isn't just a band who believe in themselves, but one
who also intend to make lots of other people believe in them too.
Fortunately, such rare ambition is accompinied by fierce rock
music of the highest order. Flushed with firebrand rhetoric and
furious guitars, as soon as one unstoppable rock stormer fades,
another pops up to take it's place. The album's only real fault
is that, the gorgeous 'Your Body Lies'
aside, the slow 'n' sensitive songs fail to match the impact of
the 'Fallen Through',
'The Only Way', 'Toys
For Boys' and all the other more headstrong
moments. Hell, 'Wait' is even derivative enough to remind you
that Marion were once plagued with more Smiths comparisons than
Gene. But, ultimately, the reason Marion's
debut succeeds where Gene's stumbled is the same reason they've
managed to forge their own, unique '90s rock identity. And the
same reason why this record will mean an awful lot to a select
few people, rather then not mean much to an awful lot of people.
RAW (March) - SLEEP EP click here for full picture/review
RAW (January) - TIME click here for full picture/review
N.M.E (January) - TIME
The truth, as we all know, isn't always what we want to hear. So fix yourself a stiff double vodka and find your favourite armchair and we'll begin. Because, boys and girls, Marion know that the endless party's over. That is, the one we all waltzed through so blindly and beautifully last year where everything and anything Messrs Gallagher & Albarn touched turned to gold discs and where we, inevitably, lost our minds and our marbles as a consequence. Marion, if you hadn't noticed by now, aren't here for the fast thrills of the moment; they're here to show us what happens when the lights go up and there's nothing else to do but face the grim reality. Their third 'proper' single 'Time' is the first to give a real indication of quite what they might be capable of. I mean listen to it. The pseudo - 'Pretty Vacant' guitar break at the start the way Jaime - 20-years-old, incidentally - taunts us throughout with the legend "Are you missing her?" (like, who are you kidding?). Like the way...oh forget it. Marion, on the surface of it, could be a black-clad anomaly; a miserablist throwback to the likes of Echo & The Bunnymen, that on-one ever wanted to hear about in the first place. But every time you hear 'Time' and burnt-out B-side 'Chance' you start thinking that maybe post-teenage guitar bands don't have to resemble the idiotic buffoonery of Ash. That maybe, if we only admitted it, people aren't having such an amazing time out there after all. Whatever, let's steer clear of the U2 comparisons. A sonic winter blues and runner up for 'Single of the Week' by a photograph.
1995
The Beat (February) - SLEEP
Marion have had sessions with Mark Radcliffe, the Evening Session's Jo Whiley and Steve Lamacq - a session with - Jo Whiley - ding dong! And are hoping to clean up in the Smiths bargain bin. They've supported the Moz on tour, are currently out with Radiohead and then they're out on their own. Have guitars will travel, that's Marion's motto. Their current single is Sleep - don't even think about it.