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Marah
20,000 Streets Under the Sky
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In which Marah return to form after their total sell-out too-slick arena-rock bid for Gen-MTV success, 'Float Away With the Friday Night Gods' (2002). The brothers Bielanko are, thankfully, again more organic, acoustic, original and real on their new '20,000 Streets Under the Sky'. Here they sound more than ever like a reincarnation of early Springsteen, folded in with the sound of their great 'Kids in Philly' disc (2000).
Turns out street-corner-serenade doo-wop rock with a street-punk attitude from
New York
(Jesse Malin) and
New Jersey
(Patti Scialfa) sounds alot like the same stuff in Philly (Marah). This is a good thing, a most welcome development in the direction of music in 2004, and is certainly to be encouraged. We can use alot more of this rock ethos in the desolate soundscape that is popular music today. '20,000 Streets Under the Sky' is pretty darn good, but it just doesn't quite grab me like I hoped it would. Darn! If they stay on track this time, their next should be their masterpiece.
Recording quality is there-in-the-room-with-you great, and you can easily pick out the various banjo, bells, flute, harmonica, pedal steel, horns and male and female Brill Building backing vocals that slip in between acoustic and electric guitars, piano, organ, bass and drums and give the disc its grounded, creative texture and sound. (First hearing the acoustic and flute intro to track one, for a moment there I flashed on Donovan becoming street-savvy! Woah!)
We welcome Marah back with open arms and even higher expectations. This is a solid big-city-back-alley rock disc that should not be missed. Check it out if you like early Springsteen, or Jesse Malin and/or Patti Scialfa's latest (see our reviews in the Archives section)...or the sadly overlooked Joe Grushecky and the Houserockers or Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes...you know who you are. Get it!
