AGGRESSIVE HIPPIES

I remember the first element that caught my attention about this band named Marbin, was the curious cover art of their debut album, which reminded me a bit of Miyazaki's drawings, so then I listened to the music and liked what I heard. A couple of years after that discovery, I am here talking about Marbin's most recent album, which I knew thanks to Leonardo Pavkovic from Moonjune Records, the band's label. An album released in 2015 entitled Aggressive Hippies, whose story can be found and read on the Marbin ' Moonjune's bandcamp site; a curious and funny story, by the way. So Marbin has been frequently on my most recent listening sessions with their 2014 live album The Third Set, and now with this new one. Now I'll tell you why.

Aggressive Hippies consists of 53 explosive minutes divided in 9 songs in which Dani Rabin on guitars and Danny Markovitch on saxophone, provide wonderful compositions that are magnificently complemented by Greg Essig on drums and John W. Lauter on bass. The music they give us lies on the jazz fusion scene, however they bring several elements from rock, blues and experimental music. So during the whole album you will have a feast of energy and explosions in one hand, and some softer moments with some kind of jams in the other. An example of this, is the first song entitled 'Just Music', that I believe represents the global idea of enjoying the music without labels, because it is just music, you choose whether you like it or not.

'Y'all are Good' offers a great guitar sound making the rhythm first and later with some wonderful distorted solos, while drums and bass guide the structure and the saxophone adds its amazing charisma. I like a lot Marbin's music, and also it reminds me a bit of Mexican band Luz de Riada, which is one of my favorite national acts. But well, this song takes you to different roads, though in the end those roads take you to one destination: musical satisfaction. 'Intro' is a short song with a calm atmosphere in which guitar gives us a moment of relaxation. And it leads to 'African Shabtay' which shows us a bombastic and explosive sound since the very first second. Here we can appreciate the musicianship and how they spread their love for what they do, because one can easily notice that they get along very well and that they love writing and performing music, sometimes the music itself can give tell you the musicians' mood, and here I know they all were excited while recording this wonderful track.

'Juke Joint' is not that crazy as the previous track, this one has a slower rhythm led by saxophone that takes me a bit to Balkan territories. But that slower rhythm progresses and the intensity increases little by little; also, the leadership changes later when guitars take the baton and offer wonderful solos. It is undeniable these are creative and talented musicians, one can truly notice it on the almighty 'O'l Neckin'', a song that kicks asses, in which the drumming work is simply incredible, superb. Later, the saxophone shows how crazy it can get (and how amazing, of course). This is one of my favorite tracks on this album.

But I believe the pinnacle arrives with 'Morning Star', a 9-minute track whose first minute is very sensual and delicate, but later when guitar and bass join, the mood changes and it begins to build up new structures, adding a nice variety of textures and nuances that give as a result a wonderful experimental jazzy song whose different passages will not let you down, because no matter the changes and the directions, your attention and interest will be kept here. 'Aggressive Hippies' is the shortest track and the one with the happiest mood, a kind of rock-jazz that will suggest you even to dance. The last track is 'Jambo' which is an amazing outro, full of energy and power, where Marbin plays at its finest (well, in the whole album plays like this, actually) offering a extraordinary blend of jazz rock elements that can be devoured by your musical instinct anytime you wish.

What a great album by this wonderful band, without a doubt they earn a solid four-star rating, so please do yourself a favor and listen to it.

Enjoy it!