After releasing some great singles over the past couple of years Marq Electronica has just released his first album, ‘Savage Times’. I have reviewed a couple of his singles and I once said that he is a “Purveyor of some of the finest electronic pop you will find in the UK” This album cements that opinion. The album opens with “Next To Nothing” which has a great dance feel to it and is ripe for a club remix. Marq draws influence from the best of early 80s synth pop and makes it his own. At times his vocals reminded me of Boy George in his Jesus Loves You days back in the early 90s. Next, is “Feeding The Fire” which keeps the dancey feel of the first track and features one of the best vocals on the album. This track, in fact, much of the album, would be an excellent soundtrack to a good gym workout. In “Just Look Around You” I can hear a synth riff that instrumentally would fit well as the theme tune to a hard-hitting Channel 4 documentary. Meanwhile, it is overlaid with a wonderful really positive lyric, with a hook that stays with you long after the sound of the song fades. This really is a stunningly good dance album and, for me, “You Do What You Want” is an epic banging floor filler. The sublime 80s synthpop vibe returns with “Lifetime” with its wonderful abundance of pop hooks. “The Way I Feel” reminded me of early Soft Cell with the sweeping soundscapes putting Visage in my head too. The album closes with “I’m Waking Up To You” which is perhaps one of the most chilled tracks in this collection, although it still wears its dance credentials proudly. The music has a poppy happy vibe while the lyric is kind of dark and positive at the same time.
When I chatted to Marq recently he said that he was immensely proud of ‘Savage Times’ but nervous in equal measures as this is the first time he has given himself full artistic control. I reckon he should reduce the nerves and build up the pride. This is a great album. If I have one criticism it is that it is a little short for me, clocking in at just over 27 minutes, but there is absolutely no filler, this is all killer! Marq had this to say about the album “The album is my reaction to the trauma of losing my father, my crippling self-esteem issues, and the state of the UK and politics. I wanted to create something funky and dancey that reminded me of good times even though the topics were often quite dark – I like the dichotomy. The music reminds me of The Freemasons and Hed Kandi and is mixed with electro and deep house influences to create a full-on dance-pop vibe.” Based on what Marq has given us with ‘Savage Times’ he will clearly be around for a very long while! Get this album into your ears now, by any means necessary, well apart from anything that involves stealing or being unkind of course!
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