Marvelous 3 is an Atlanta-based power-pop trio led by vocalist and guitarist
Butch Walker and rounded up by bassist Jayce Fincher and drummer Slug.
The band debuted with Math And Other Problems (Deep South, 1997).
Hey! Album (Nu-clear, 1998 - Elektra, 1999) spawned the hit single
and signature tune Freak Of The Week. A retro, hook-driven approach a` la Cheap Trick
yielded several cute ditties such as Indie Queen,
Vampires In Love, You're So Yesterday.
On the other hand, the mildly psychedelic Until You See and
Lemonade displayed the limits of the band.
The arena ballad Let Me Go is particularly embarassing.
Over Your Head is a cover of Steve Miller's Space Cowboy.
Ready Sex Go (Elektra, 2000) opens with a slab of
Clash-style punk-pop:
Little Head. Then it rolls out the
angry and epic rant of Grant Park, worthy of Slade or Queen.
But silly ditties such as Supernatural, Cold As Hell,
This Time are third-rate Beatles, and
the choral power-ballad Radio Tokyo and the
Queen-style melodrama of Cigarette Lighter Love Song
sound like self-parodies.
Butch Walker launched a successful solo career with the more conventional
pop ballads of
Left of Self Centered (2002) and Letters (2004).
After an odd tribute to David Bowie's glam-rock,
The Rise and Fall of Butch Walker and the Let's-Go-Out-Tonites (2006),
and after writing Pink's Leave Me Alone (2006), Walker released his most
personal album, Sycamore Meadows (2008), containing
The Weight of Her and
Here Comes The.
A new backup band, the Black Widows, helped Walker on
I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart (2010)
chisel the rocker Trash Day but the pensive mood of the previous album
still permeated Don't You Think Someone Should Take You Home.
Walker now also displayed an elegant passion for orchestral pop
(Stripped Down Version, Pretty Melody, House of Cards).
Spade (2011), instead, seemed to lose sight of all three strands
(the introverted, the orchestral and the rocking), content with rehashing
stereotypes of blue-collar rock in
Bodegas and Blood,
Summer of `89,
Sweethearts, etc.
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(Translation by/ Tradotto da Andrea Marengo)
Marvelous 3 è un terzetto power-pop di Atlanta capitanato
dal cantante e chitarrista Butch Walker, che radunò il bassista Jayce Fincher e
il batterista Slug. La formazione debuttò con Math And Other Problems (Deep
South, 1997).
Hey! Album (Nu-clear, 1998 - Elektra, 1999) conteneva la
hit/sigla di Freak Of The Week. Un approccio retrò fruttava
numerosecanzonettegraziose quali Indie Queen, Vampires In Love, You
Are So Yesterday. D'altronde, le leggere psichedelie di Until You See e
Lemonade mostravano i limiti del gruppo. L'arena ballad di Let Me Go è
particolarmente imbarazzante. Over Your Head è una cover di Space Cowboy di
Steve Miller.
Ready Sex Go (Elektra, 2000) inizia con una lastra punk-pop
alla maniera dei Clash: Little Head, per poi srotolarsi nella furente
declamazione epica di Grant Park (che farebbe invidia a Slade e Queen). Ma
canzonette sciocche quali Supernatural, Cold As Hell, e This Time sembrano
appartenere a dei Beatles di terza categoria, mentre la power-ballad Radio
Tokio e il melodramma alla maniera dei Queen di Cigarette Lighter Love Song
sembrano auto-parodie.
Successivamente Butch Walker lanciò una carriera solista di
successo con le più convenzionali ballate pop di Self Centered (2002) e Letters
(2004).
Dopo The Rise And Fall Of Butch Walker And The
Let's-Go-Out-Tonites (2010) un bizzarro tributo al glam-rock di David Bowie e
Pink's Leave Me Alone (2006), Walker pubblicò il suo album più personale,
Sycamore Meadows (2008), contenente The Weight Of Her e Here Comes The.
Una nuova band di supporto, i Black Widows, aiutarono Walker
su I Liked It Better When You Had No Heart (2010) contenente la
"rockettara" Trash Day, ma la vena pensosa dell'album precedente
permea nuovamente su Don't You Think Someone Should Take You Home. Walker
mostra ora anche un'elegante passione per il pop orchestrale (Stripped Down
Version, Pretty Melody, House Of Cards).
Spade (2011), che sembrava invece perdere di vista tutti e
tre gli elementi portanti della sua musica (quella introversa, quella
orchestrale, e quella più "rock"), contiene stereotipi riciclati dal
blue-collar rock come evidenziano Bodegas and Blood, Summer Of '89,
Sweethearts, ecc...
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