Review by LarryG
3 stars out of 4
Kids In Philly is the kind of fun, gritty rock record they don't
make much anymore. Marah's music has been compared to early
Springsteen but a better comparison is with Springsteen's
contemporaries, late 70's bar bands like Southside Johnny & The Asbury
Jukes and Graham Parker & The Rumour. David Bielanko's voice doesn't
have much range but its roughness and his wired, fast talking persona
are good for Marah's energetic, honest, ungimmicky music. Kids In
Philly does a good job mixing in country instruments but it's mostly
good time rock and roll.
Working within the form of basic rock and roll, the band adds
different sounds to keep the songs interesting and upbeat. Faraway You
is a likable raveup with banjo, vibes and harmonica. David Bielanko's
free flow account of the bleak Philly sights he sees from his bus
window stays buoyant even as he sees his girl "sittin' on a beach,
entangled in a kiss." Point Breeze showcases the band's influences. It
starts with a Springsteen style line: "headlight cars do battle down
the boulevard." The vocal and good guitar riff remind me of Parker's
Over The Border and the "Sha-Na-Na"s and party mood could be from a
good Southside Johnny song. Christian St. paints a colorful picture of
a working class neighborhood. Horns and Springsteen style "come on"s
keep things fun. The slightly slower It's Only Money, Tyrone has a
good, edgy sound as it tells a brutal murderer that the evidence of
his brutal act, like all improperly disposed waste, is bound to come
back to him. The Catfisherman is good, no nonsense rock. Barstool Boys
has a Small Faces feel with low key bluegrass instruments. The songs
on Kids In Philly are often like Lou Reed's small scale, no nonsense
street songs from his New York CD. The History Of Where Someone Has
Been Killed has the loose but tough sound of Dirty Blvd. and Busload
Of Faith.
The writing on Kids In Philly can be surprisingly ambitious. It
works because the music is so winning and the lyrics stay on a
detailed, small scale even when they're about big things. Roundeye
Blues' country music is appropriately low key, with a good Be My Baby
percussion snap, on a song about a G.I. in Vietnam who survives the
terror of war with help from memories of music from back home. My
Heart Is The Bums On The Street has a good bluesy guitar line like
Elvis Costello's Pads, Paws and Claws. The song's light mood keeps the
metaphors, describing the pain of Bielanko's heart since she left him,
from getting too heavy. Kids In Philly doesn't sound a false note,
right through its last song, the quiet acoustic guitar ballad This
Town. The story of a guy "paralyzed of luck 'til you were out shakin'
a cup", like many of the CD's songs, relates a small, dark, real
sounding story.
Marah have been championed by Steve Earle. The songs, written by
David and his guitar player brother Serge Bielanko, don't quite have
the depth and range of Earle's. But they do a good job of investing
simple street tales with good, vivid detail. And the music on Kids In
Philly is an enjoyable mix of countryish roots music and unpretentious
straight ahead rock.
|
