Marah does, and their latest album Angels of Destruction can't really be designated as any other kind of music. Yes, there's a definite Clapton influence, some Kinks for good measure, and the occasional tune that conjures Mr. Springsteen from New Jersey and worships him in a dusty dive-bar somewhere near a desert. Compellingly, Angels of Destruction is rock 'n' roll without complications. Marah hasn't set the bar unreachably high, so the music is comfortable and usually well-performed.
"Coughing Up Blood" starts the album off with steady guitar strumming and an incredibly catchy bass vocal chorus of "bah bom bah bah bom bom". The title itself would've won points from me, even if the music was pure garbage. Luckily, the music is far from garbage. "Old Time Tickin' Away" is the upbeat single that jams along with jumpy guitar riffs and vocal delivery that combines the Velvet Underground's suavity with the Kinks' bar-rock drawl. "Angels on A Passing Train" pulls out the rock 'n' roll piano for the first ballad. There was something eerily familiar about the piano melody, and I realized that it instantly reminded me of the interlude in "Layla". After a close listen, the two piano melodies are not as similar as I originally imagined, but there's still something there - maybe simmering longing - that instantly groups these tracks together in my mind. The lyrical delivery on this song, instead of being restless, sounds completely weary, almost like the singer is gingerly nursing a hangover while crooning into the microphone. "Wild West Love Song" calls in the remains of a boogie-woogie piano line. Another repeatedly wailing guitar sits just above the lead singer's scattered vocals. For all of the sound layered in this song, "Wild West Love Song" is absolutely a skeleton in the desert. The place where this song echoes is so unimaginably huge that you can just catch the sound as it diffuses through space; it's really an awesome effect. "Blue But Cool" is where I hear undistilled Springsteen, and where I also feel the most affection for Marah. This song is truly gorgeous, probably my favorite tune on the whole album. It plays to a desert as lonely and expansive as that in "Wild West Love Song", but this is a desert at night, so it's also cold and blue when you move away from the campfire. The guitar waltzes along, almost constellating. It truly does remind me of constellations and shooting stars, the otherworldly things that we can almost take home with us if we just reach far enough.
There's only one song on the whole album that I feel should have been tossed to the side before the record was finished. "Santos De Madera" is a bizarre and jolting tune. It keeps company with such graceful songs, it's a bit of a shame it wasn't saved for another album. The tune starts out well enough, although the melody sounds more like Celtic folk than Americana. As the vocals begin, this song takes a sharp turn downhill, with a goofy fading effect more appropriate for progressive rock tunes and a child-sized piano line. This isn't a sound you're likely to hear in an old, dusty bar, or giant desert, or even in Central and South America, places Marah seems to be trying to visit. "Santos De Madera" wouldn't sound particularly out of place on an Animal Collective album, but stay clear of it if you're looking for anything close to good ol' rock 'n' roll.
Overall, Angels of Destruction is an incredibly steady album, and one that will have any fan of rock 'n' roll nodding their head in no time. Marah's been around for quite a few years, but I whole-heartedly hope that they have a few more albums like this up their sleeves.
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