MARLON BRANDO ISLAND – DEMO REVIEW

Marlon Brando Island – Demo 

Marlon Brando Island - Demo EP 

Release Date: Out Now

Having lived in the DMZ on the edge of East London for a while, I know full well that it dances a fine line between creative hotpot and a hamlet of pretentious wankers. So it’s with a mixture of excitement and nervousness that I unwrap the debut EP by East London troupe Marlon Brando Island. Opening with ‘A Troubled Past’, the EP gets off to jangling, ramshackle start mixing punk, garage and art-house straight away with the likes of Franz Ferdinand, Pixies, the Fall and the Stooges coming to mind immediately and that’s no bad thing. On ‘True Heroes’, MBI start with a more considered beginning as the guitars strum and the luscious vocals swoon before the drums come thumping in and suddenly there’s a triumphant feel to this tune, one that lifts the band on to a new platform.

‘Fear Of The Winter’ is the halfway mark of the EP and shows another string to the bow of Marlon Brando Island as they morph in to something akin to Arcade Fire with those deep, velvety vocals, urgent drums and guitars that pick out notes in a night sky with majesty. There is something of the Libertines about ‘Drunk Driving’ as a real gang mentality takes over the steering wheel, careering through clashing guitars and scattered drums. The EP closes out with ‘Circle of Throats’ which sounds like it should be a Biffy Clyro song from the title but actually has a more considered, dramatic approach which would sit most naturally with the likes of the National and that’s no bad thing. So, fortunately for us, Marlon Brando Island have taken on board the creativity of East London rather than the wankyness and, as debuts go, this is pretty smashing. Bloody smashing actually.

More information: https://www.facebook.com/marlonbrandoislandband/?fref=ts