Thanatophobia – Marc With A C (reviewed by Dave Franklin)

Weird! And I mean that in a good way. In fact, I mean that in the greatest of ways. Weird is non-conformist. Weird follows its own rules. Weird is about thinking outside the box, of non-caring what others think, of ignoring fad and fashion. Weird is its own reward. So, when I say Thanatophobia is weird, it is a compliment, perhaps the highest that I can give.

So, what is it all about? Well, where to start? I guess the common thread across the songs found here is that the rattle and shimmy, shuffle and groove, occasionally clatter, along to a lo-fi, indie-pop beat but that hardly does it justice. There are songs such as It’s Never Too Late which sashay round to a sort of Latin-lounge-jazz vibe taking in spacious lulls and acoustic pop sweetness. And then there are the slightly psychedelic, power-pop cascades of guitars than make up No Kidding, a song that makes me immediately think of the likes of Anton Barbeau, which is never a bad thing. And you have to check out the glam stomp meets Casio keyboard oddness meets paper-and-comb/bee in a cocoa tin textures of Bootleg R.E.M. (If that doesn’t sound like something worthy of your time, then perhaps you are reading the wrong site, I’m just saying!)

And if the music is a beguiling blend of things that shouldn’t naturally work in harmony but somehow do, that is only half of the story. The lyrics, and this should be true of any song worth its salt, make up the other, equal half. These words are at turns laugh out loud funny, contemplative, philosophical, deep, meaningless, poignant, silly and everything in between.

Marc makes music for all the right reasons. These may be pop songs at their heart but they are a million miles away from the mainstream. This is pop for the outsider, pop for those who like the format but hate the fact that it has all become so driven by style over substance. Well, Thanatophobia is stylish and substantial, it is just that its idea of style is probably not what most people think it is but if you get it, you get it, and that is all that matters. Get it? No? Play it again….and again….and again….