Marlon Brando Island – Demo
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| Marlon Brando Island - Demo EP |
Release Date: Out Now
Having lived in the DMZ on the
edge of East London for a while, I know full well that it dances a fine line
between creative hotpot and a hamlet of pretentious wankers. So it’s with a
mixture of excitement and nervousness that I unwrap the debut EP by East London
troupe Marlon Brando Island. Opening with ‘A Troubled Past’, the EP gets off to
jangling, ramshackle start mixing punk, garage and art-house straight away with
the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Pixies, the Fall and the Stooges coming to mind
immediately and that’s no bad thing. On ‘True Heroes’, MBI start with a more
considered beginning as the guitars strum and the luscious vocals swoon before
the drums come thumping in and suddenly there’s a triumphant feel to this tune,
one that lifts the band on to a new platform.
‘Fear Of The Winter’ is the
halfway mark of the EP and shows another string to the bow of Marlon Brando
Island as they morph in to something akin to Arcade Fire with those deep,
velvety vocals, urgent drums and guitars that pick out notes in a night sky
with majesty. There is something of the Libertines about ‘Drunk Driving’ as a
real gang mentality takes over the steering wheel, careering through clashing
guitars and scattered drums. The EP closes out with ‘Circle of Throats’ which
sounds like it should be a Biffy Clyro song from the title but actually has a
more considered, dramatic approach which would sit most naturally with the
likes of the National and that’s no bad thing. So, fortunately for us, Marlon
Brando Island have taken on board the creativity of East London rather than the
wankyness and, as debuts go, this is pretty smashing. Bloody smashing actually.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/marlonbrandoislandband/?fref=ts