Marin Independent Journal Reviews “Lyle”
Press Play: Marble Party's stunning debut
By Paul Liberatore
Marin Independent Journal
Posted: 05/25/2012 07:20:00 AM PDT
Marble Party - "Lyle"
Sausalito's Floating Records has a winner with this debut album from the pop rock band Marble Party, a young quartet that's been described as "Farmhouse-era Phish hanging out at a beach barbecue with the Shins."
The beach barbecue part, at least, is right on target. It's easy to imagine a song like "Supergirl," with its easy-listening wah-wah guitar and pillowy soft jazz synths, drifting on a summer breeze like a 21st-century echo of Seals & Crofts.
The band's quirky, clever songwriting and impressively restrained musicianship are showcased on the mysterious "Glen Campbell's Guitar" and the politically smart "Atomic Whack-a-Mole," the latter a slyly sarcastic take on the Japanese nuclear disaster that affectionately borrows an intro from Warren Zevon's "Werewolves of London."
Marble Party — Dan Barbee, Greg Merriman, Andy Trapp and Eric Eisenberg — brings to the table a sophisticated, laid-back vocal sound with rich harmonies, doubled leads and even two voices singing different parts at the same time, on the song "Let's Get Heavy," with its Grateful Dead meets the Beatles undertones.
The radio-friendly ballad "Oblivion" sails along on acoustic guitar, lush keyboards, lovely harmonies and goose-flesh chord changes, all the elements of an alt-rock hit. But it's hard to say which of the 10 tracks on "Lyle" should be the first single. There isn't a weak cut on this surprising first LP, recorded at Laughing Tiger Studios in San Rafael and Casa Barbee in Mill Valley. This freshman effort automatically earns Marble Party most-likely-to-succeed honors on the local music scene.
Many bands try and try and never come up with that elusive breakthrough album. Marble Party may have recorded it their first time out.
Buy It: "Lyle," Marble Copy, Floating Records (www.floatingrecords.com), emusic.com download, $4.90, CD Baby, CD $9.99.
Hear Them Live: CD release party, 9 p.m. May 26, the Seahorse, 305 Harbor Drive, Sausalito, $5.
— Paul Liberatore
Floating Records Reviews “Lyle”
There are plenty of barstool philosophers (and I know most of them) who have wondered aloud what is to become of the Left Coast music scene in the post-jamband world.
Well my friends, look no further than Floating Records' own Marble Party. On their new album "Lyle," Marble Party's sly songwriting and impressive musicianship skirts both alternative and jamband worlds. I hear hints of Farmhouse-era Phish hanging out at a beach barbecue with the Shins.
But really, Marble Party's great strength here is their quirky and sharp lyrical sensibilities and their unique sound that displays both precise musical acumen and a laid-back Northern California vibe all at once. The music satisfies on so many levels. For instance, the other day, it was glorious and sunny. I was driving around listening to "Lyle" thinking, "This is like the perfect sunny hot day summer album." In true California fashion, the next day was rainy, and when I jumped in the car, Marble Party was still in the CD player, and goddamned if it wasn't the perfect music for a rainy day.
Floating Records, May 2012