Post by jptheprofessor on Dec 17, 2006 23:30:01 GMT -5
THE MARAUDERS – THE MARAUDERS (no label) Over the past five years, The Marauders have been blazing a trail on stages throughout Pennsylvania and beyond with their gritty brand of punk-fueled 50’s-styled rockabilly. Eventually, through a mutual friend, they came to the attention of a famous rockabilly revivalist himself, Brian Setzer. Setzer liked the band’s bare-bones approach and blue-collar ethic, enough so that he wrote a song for the group (and is currently taking them out on tour with his orchestra). That song, “We Are The Marauders,” is the rowdy centerpiece of The Marauders’ self-titled third album, an eleven-song set that continues and expands upon the group’s fiery roots rock sound. Performance-wise, The Marauders step it up another notch here; with Abe Weber’s drumming more raucous and reckless, Chris Lawson’s upright bass thumps rampaging more, and Ben Dumm’s guitar and lead vocal howl sounding nastier. Lyrically, you won’t hear syrupy odes to malt shops and poodle skirts here; The Marauders are more at home in the world of greasers, leather jackets, tattoos, cigarettes, switchblades and bar fights. The group again reveres the blue-collar lifestyle on their boisterous update of “New Tattoo,” forecast a ‘brawl in the barroom’ on “Rumble On The Rocks,” and chase skirts on “Hell On High Heels.” “Johnny Don’t Like It (When You Call Him Elvis)” pays homage to a movie role by the late Joe Strummer of The Clash, while “Lookin’ Forward to Leavin’ You Behind” dropkicks a nasty habit. While straight-ahead early-styled rock’n’roll is the primary flavor, The Marauders toy with slight swing and jazz textures on “Rumble On The Rocks” and “Nothing to Prove,” and incorporate a Bo Diddley beat into the album closer “Rhythm Fix.” Recorded, mixed and mastered by Larry Luther at Mr. Small’s Funhouse in Pittsburgh and produced by the band and Luther, The Marauders sounds lean, hungry and vibrant, with a slight touch of reverb giving the mix that authentic 50’s hiccup finish. The Marauders finds this group stepping up the spit and swagger, and again successfully infusing roots-flavored rock and roll with the type of rebellious, youthful bite those guys in 50’s-era Memphis displayed when they first sowed the seeds for the genre. (The CD can be purchased by visiting The Marauders’ website, www.themarauderspa.com.)