RIYL: U2, Simple Minds, Radiohead
It seems a somewhat formidable task to encapsulate two decades of music within the span of a dozen tracks, but Marillion’s latest makes the case that it’s at least worth trying. Summing up the group’s progress following the transition from original singer Fish to current front man Steve Hogarth at the end of the ‘80s, this modest anthology holds together remarkably well, each song segueing seamlessly into the next with scarcely any change in tone or tempo. One can only surmise that that the band is either a stickler for consistency or simply at a loss for new ideas; either way, their sprawling, unhurried sound is as spare as the album title suggests. Songs begin with little more than a few notes on a keyboard or the simple strum of an acoustic guitar before acceding to an underlying, unresolved tension that ripples just below the surface. When the material soars, as with the slightly more emphatic “Hard As Love” or via the bebop rhythms of “If My Heart Were a Ball,” Marillion manage to emulate the plaintive tomes of U2 and Simple Minds. However, aside from the “hidden track” “Cannibal Surf Babe” and a moving cover of Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees” – one of two live bonus tunes – the melodies are somewhat diffuse, showing only a lackluster attempt at capturing a more emphatic sound.
Ironically, when Fish sang with the band during their formative years, Marillion was far more dynamic, though they were constrained by the notion they were simply a poor man’s Genesis. Less Is More suggests the Fish connection is still there, but it’s more like the kind that seeks a hook to hang on. (Eagle Records 2009)
