The Marked Men are a lost cause. Here we had one of the most catchy and true bands, reaching their stride, and no one noticed. Their last album Ghosts came and went, and not only did it go unnoticed in the musical mainstream, but it didn’t even make a dent in the punk rock audience (save for a few passionate mentions in Razorcake). It’s a real shame too, because Ghosts had some of the most brilliant, honest, toe-tapping, buzz-pop songs I’ve ever heard.
Do yourself a favor and buy, borrow, download, or steal some Marked Men songs and thank me later. Just because music (like the Kentucky Derby) is becoming increasingly depraved, doesn’t mean you have to be. And seriously, while you’re at it, cover your shame!
The Other Side
540 Records (2010)
1. The Other Side
2. On
Availability: www.greennoiserecords.com
When I saw Gentleman Jesse a month or so ago, I couldn’t help but tell him that Mark had told me about his band. Gentleman Jesse sounded appreciative and when I told him about the new Marked Men 7” that seemed to have dropped from the sky this year, he adeptly proclaimed, “What?! They’re like Tupac!”
These two post-breakup songs were recorded over Christmas break last year (an advantage to owning your own studio) and highlights the band’s softer side. Although the songs don’t necessarily reach the excellence of their prior catalog, this 7” contains all the elements that make the Marked Men so great: raw and gritty and commanding a toe-tapping. This release holds its own, but it just teases us with the possibility of another full length. Fingers crossed!
Split with This is My Fist
No Idea Records (2009)
1. Whip Me (Marked Men)
2. Too Pretty to Fuck (Marked Men)
3. All That is Wrong (This is My Fist)
4. Bad Seed (This is My Fist)
Availability: www.noidearecords.com
Just when I thought these guys couldn’t top their straightforward garage-punk songs on Ghosts, they go ahead and release this split with This is My Fist, which harbors the excellent Whip Me; hardly over a minute and containing only verses and a bridge. This song is certainly punk rock 101.
The biggest surprise on Ghosts was hearing Joe sing on 1/15th of the album, so why not up the ante and give the man a 50/50 contribution this time? Accordingly, the Joe-sung Too Pretty to Fuck and some catchy female-fronted pop punk (courtesy of This is My Fist: what a pairing!) round up the rest of this solid 7”.
Fortune
Dirtnap Records (2009)
1. Fortune
2. Like Robots
Availability: OOP
One of my favorite songs of last year was definitely Fortune off of Ghosts. I can think of few songs that get my heart beating like it does right when Jeff screams “Where’s my sun now?!”
Little do people know, but this is an “alternate” version of Fortune. I mean this on a technical level, since the record was pressed incorrectly with a small skip at the beginning. Ken at Dirtnap Records tells me I’m the first person to ever have mentioned that to him. But regardless, I’m usually not a fan of non-exclusive tracks on 7”s, but I don’t particularly mind it this time. Fortune deserves to be highlighted, anyway.
Like Robots is an interesting song that sounds unique enough for the Marked Men to sound like nothing else they’ve done before. With the guitars taking a slight backseat to their usual elevated levels, Like Robots ends up sounding like Mark’s band The Mind Spiders. What a shame you didn’t pick this up!
Unless you couldn’t tell, Ollie Ottoman proudly waves the Marked Men flag in total vain, as he, once again, finds himself in love with a band no one else cares for or can relate to. His love is such that it even makes him end sentences in prepositions. Oddly enough, this love is only matched by his hatred of the movie Inception, which fittingly, everyone else is willing to forgive its blatant plot-holes. In between finishing graduate school and preparing to move to colder climates, he is determined to carelessly pack his belongings one box at a time putting special care only into his action figures, which he is convinced, care for him in return.
