Posted by A lot has happened in the eight year gap between Marmozets records, singer Becca Bottomley (formerly McIntyre) married guitarist Jack and had a daughter, odd jobs and 9 to 5s, bassist Will Bottomley left the band and a worldwide pandemic happened somewhere in the middle. Finally the band have a new label and a new album Co.War.Dice, which dials down the heavy but keeps it punchy.
Saying that though it comes roaring out of the blocks, the first three tracks are raucous nuggets of noise. First track ‘Kiss From A Mother’ is an explosive blast of punkish rock, with snarling vocals and a pounding beat. ‘New York’ is a bouncy alt rocker with its juicy hooks and buzzy guitars telling the tale of touring life in the big apple. The most frenetic one is the blood pumping ‘Cut Back’, its pulsing electro verses, big choruses and restless riffs will go down a treat live this summer.
It shares the straight forward approach of Knowing What You Know Now, but swaps some hard rock heft for some alt rock and pop – like bouncy synths and the QOTSA, fuzzy alt pop vibe of ‘Running With The Sun In Your Eyes’. Or the daydream inspired plea to live in the now ‘Mes Désirs’, with its thunderous chords, Black Keys like shuffle and unavoidable choruses. The taut, rolling drum beat of ‘Like Last Night’ unfolds into a big, brash number with swagger to spare.
The mournful ‘Swear I’m Alive’ is built upon a bed of harsh sirens and airy synths which fight for your attention but doesn’t really get it. The impassioned ‘You Want The Truth’ is a frenetic, slightly too busy bundle of distortion that flies by in under three minutes. Despite the odd hiccup the expansive, 7 minutes plus epic ‘Keep Going Darling’ ends the LP on a widescreen display of positivity.
Whilst not reaching the heights of their previous work, CO.WAR.DICE is a tight, 42 minutes of alt rock belters and a reminder of what we have missed.
7/10
Lofty Music and Film 