He may have left it relatively late in life to launch his solo career, but with ‘Grand Reveal’ being his third album since 2011, 52-year old Mike Marlin is certainly making up for lost time. And while Mike’s route to rock cultdom may not have been a conventional one, the fact he’s lived an unusual life, full of twists and turns in the real world of business, computing and academia. Having pursued various career paths and dead ends, while harbouring a musical passion that developed during the early years of punk means his is a true voice of experience. It’s that experience, and that voice, that defines his recorded output.
He’s come a long way since his debut release, an off-beat – and frankly brilliant – cover of ‘Stayin’ Alive’, that demonstrated from the outset that there’s a humorous side to his grouchy persona. ‘Grand Reveal’ sees Marlin expand and unravel in various ways, resulting in a rounded and extremely fulfilling album.
The gentle piano intro to opener ‘The Skull Beneath the Skin’ gives way to a choppy guitar chug and Marlin’s dry, Chris Rea-esque growl. The verse sounds more like The Stranglers, though, a swirling organ amidst the punky guitars. Mike sounds smoky and grizzled on the title track but manages to blossom into a grand chorus with the lines ‘I’m older than I look but I’m younger than I feel’
There’s an urgency to the gloriously ambiguous ‘War to Begin’, the chiming guitar underpinned by driving bass and robust percussion, and there’s a real sense that Marlin’s really stepped things up a notch on this release.
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The middle of the album is slower, quieter and darker, but could hardly be considered a mid-album slump: instead, the string-soaked ‘Giving it All Away’ is by turns stirring, mournful and tense and recalls the theatricality of ‘The Magician’ from his previous outing, which is no bad thing, demonstrating as it does Marlin’s compositional prowess. Elsewhere, on ‘The Murderer’, marlin comes on like Nick Cave, and ‘Forgive Me Yet’ is a neat little slice of vintage pop with some nice brass licks. ‘Doesn’t Care’, meanwhile, balances introspection with a sweet, surging and positively blissful groove that’s uncharacteristic, but refreshing.
It all drives inexorably toward the sprawling 8 and a half minute closer ‘To the Grave’. As it slowly builds towards its predictably lugubrious resolution. Death and taxes, and all that jazz: but Marlin makes it a bittersweet slide, and his intimate delivery is compellingly poignant, concluding an album that’s rich and rewarding. A revelation indeed.
Mike Marlin Online
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