| Artist |
| Mari Chrome |
| Title |
| Georgy 11811 |
| Format/Cat |
| CD AM1181CD |
| Label |
| Alfa Matrix |
| Style |
| Synthpop |
| Date of review |
| 7th June 2012 |
| Reviewer |
| Carl Jenkinson |
| Rating |
| 10/10 |
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Mari Chrome consist of Kai Otte & vocalist Marion Aseema Kuechenmeister (from the band Invisible Limits)& the music they produce is some of the most dramatic you’re ever likely to hear. The album is influenced by Frtiz Lang’s classic film Metropolis but the music itself is a far more expressive affair that fully invites the listener to project his/her own personal fantasy on to the music; it helps that both artists are among the best in their respective fields as Otte’s richly-textured melodies are more than matched by Kuechenmeister’s rich, emotive voice & the two, together, prouce a spellbinding sound that is sure to touch your heart. The spikey opening of ‘Here I Am’ suggests that this might be a slightly harsh(ish) affair but once the thundering yet not overpowering rhythms kick in, to be joined by Marion’s rich vocals then it becomes clear this is an expansive, dramatic affair that, while it kicks the album off in fine style, is somewhat overshadowed by the brilliance of the following ‘The Seeker’ where the big sweeps of sound & seemingly mournful violin set the scene for a quite stunning piece that is full of romantic grandeur, like a dashing historical romance novel set to music & when the chorus gets into its stride, it’s enough to leave you breathless. And, as ‘Nie Wieder’ later proves, it’s not a one-off trick, either, as some fine piano work sets a similarly heart-swelling mood that the German lyrics do dilute a tad but not enough to worry about while some opera samples add to the already epic mood of ‘Without You’ &, as the album progresses, ‘Running Wild’ shows a slightly more muscular & compact side to their sound although the chorus is well up to the standards they set time & time again, standards that mean even the happier-sounding ‘Toxic’ still manages to have plenty going for it. To be honest, I was just glad it wasn’t a cover of the Britney Spears track, a notion that’s not quite as outlandish as it might sound as they’re not above cover versions although they do choose far more wisely in this regard with the dramatic potential of The Cure’s ‘A Forest’ being enhanced a great deal by the powerful & pacey rhythms & dark electronics again proving hard to resist although it’s hard to avoid the thought that it is something of a shame that such a talented band as this couldn’t have achieved this with an original track of their own & instead take the easy option of cover versions. This is even more the case when they cover ‘Blue Monday’ where the solo piano & lovely voice do make for an effective piece but it’s just too reminiscent of that cover of Mad World that got to number one in the UK a few years back. This is probably just nit-picking as both are well worth hearing but, as they’re able to produce such superb stuff of their own they do seem to be selling themselves short be relying so heavily on covers &, on a similar note, the massive resemblance that ‘Welcome Home’ bears to Depeche Mode’s Never Let Me Down Again is something that would have been better avoided although again, it is a fine track & there is one second where the sheer intimacy in Marion’s voice is so startling it’s as if she is not so much singing as speaking to someone close to her heart; it’s a moment of true magic, among many on this excellent album which ends on a suitably epic note as ‘Come With Me’ sees them playing very much to their strengths with another superb vocal performance & a combination of adventurous rhythms, ghostly wordless voices & lovely piano that speak directly to your heart & it’s utterly fitting that Marion’s voice is the last sound that’s heard as the album ends.
To label such dramatic, tempestuous, powerful & utterly emotive music as ‘synthpop’ is to do it a disservice in accurately evoking its myriad qualities that easily overcome such a mundane classification but the fact remains that this superb album heralds the arrival of a major new talent with a release that simply demands to be heard.
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