Angels of Destruction
‘Angels of Destruction’ sees the triumphant return of Philadelphia Technicolor punks Marah. Billed as a themed album of Religion, Destruction, Redemption and Joy, Marah, “heirs apparent to Bruce Springsteen” have created a rather diverse offering on their seventh attempt.
A wonderful flux of rock and roll, folk infused with Latin spice ensure that this album is not only very easy to listen to, but also deceptively layered and at times beautiful. Drawing influence from all over the shop, it’s particularly hard to hammer this album down to a specific genre.
Perhaps that’s the point behind the themes? Perhaps I’m trying to look for something that isn’t there. Regardless, ‘Angels of Destruction’ provides entertainment on so many levels.
‘Coughing up Blood’ provides a wonderful introduction to the album. A song, which in my humble opinion sums up everything I like about this album. Jazzy, soulful, layered and a little dirty. As much as this song in particular stands out, there are others. ‘Wild West Love Song’ and ‘Wilderness’ in particular truly are stand out tracks.
Unfortunately, there does seem to be a lot of filler in this particular album. Songs, which although decent and fitting for the album, don’t seem to be remarkable, Don’t get me wrong, every song on ‘Angels of Destruction’ is wonderfully individual in the eyes of its peers, and part of the album’s appeal is this very fact. However, too many seem to be instantly forgettable.
I can see what Marah are trying to achieve with this album, and while no song in particular is particularly bad, although the title track does spring to mind, you are left with a feeling of what could have been. Obviously, no artist wants to make an album of 11 identical tracks, however, you just feel that if they had followed the route of ‘Coughing up Blood’ and ‘Wild West Love Song’ in particular, the end result could have been nothing short of remarkable.