Marvel “At The Sunshine Factory”

Our first thought when coming across this band was wondering how they’d managed to keep their name given the current revival of the Marvel superhero franchise! The next one was how come we haven’t heard of them until this release which is actually their seventh.

You may be led astray by the opening to “A Killing View”, it starts with a restrained acoustic, almost Spanish, sound. However, it soon explodes in to a big rock number. Together with songs like “Monsters Grow In The Dark” and “Live and Learn” they combine large seventies epic rock with the flashiness and style of eighties American Rock. As demonstrated by the powerful “Heart & Balls”, Marvel are a big and bold band capable of knocking out big rock numbers. Whilst “Smile Mr Steen” has a riff that Slash would be proud of.

Importantly, they make sure that this album is not too one dimensional. “The Secret Grand Prix” again has something of a flamenco feel hidden behind the rock bluster of the guitar work and has an infectious melody. That recognition of the importance of melody really shines on “Good Luck Sandy”, where they ease off the power a bit to deliver a quite brilliant pop rocker. It’s a similar case with “Child” and “Step Closer” which have a real American radio rock feel to them.

On first listen, it’s easy to dismiss songs like “All Over The News” and “Vinegar” as just simple big rock tunes. However, after a couple of plays you realise that they are more complex than that and have a sneaky infectious appeal to them. The band even manage to pull off the difficult job of delivering a surprisingly subtle ballad in the form of “Angela”. A song which ironically would feel at home on the Guardians of The Galaxy soundtrack!

We’re not sure about a sunshine factory but Marvel have certainly created an album which is the perfect accompaniment for blasting out loud as you drive down the highway on a sunny afternoon.