Late To The Party :: Mardeen

From what I can gather Mardeen has been around for a bit. In fact, the current collection of songs dates to something like 2007 which in Indie Rock Years might as well be four decades. I mean, in 2003 people thought The Shins were as good as it would get. Fast-forward three years and those same Indie Kids worshiped at the temple of Justice. Indie-pop became electro-clash/house/blog/turn it up, my ears are bleeding. You get the point. We eat everything for breakfast and by dinner we're nauseous and hungry for something else. We are disgusting.

Mardeen is a throw-back by these metrics. It's the kind of guitar rock that Better Than Ezra would have made if they never got a record deal and Limp Bizket hadn't killed the alt-rock scene with a few punishing blows in 1998. But just because it sounds old doesn't make it bad. Most things age poorly (see: teen stars, fashion trends, milk), but some things find greater grace with time (inexplicably The Reagan era, John Travolta, and scotch whiskey). Deep down we're all a little romantic for the past. Mardeen sounds like something from ten years ago - and that's exactly what makes me like it.

"Telephones" is the less good of the two here and seems like it was loosely based on the opening three measures of Muse's "Starlight;" just listen for the fuzzed out bass-line. It has a sing-song melody that might stick in your head the first time you hear it. Mostly, it asks no questions and tells no lies. On the rock circuit these days, that passes for "capital T" Truth.

"Kids," thankfully not a cover of MGMT's smash-hit, is a satisfying little rock song. It's got a little chorus that will dig in and stay - though, perhaps, a little too disgetively and by the fourth-straight listen you might have had enough. I don't blame you. We move quick around here. After all, it's time for dinner and I feel fucking ill.

Listen ::

Mardeen - "Telephones"
Mardeen - "Kids"