*** MarionTHIS WORLD AND BODY
(London)
Unlike others in the current
crop of Brit pop, Marion don't easily
resign themselves to fate. As Jaime
Harding sings in "Sleep": "If you believe all your dreams will come true/Then
sleep is all you'll ever do." This driving guitar rock isn't content with the
quirkiness of Pulp or
Blur, or the optimistic pop of
Oasis. In Marion's blaring
passion, Harding's voice is constantly straining to break free from the urgent
guitars of Phil Cunningham. In the manner of
Suede or Radiohead, the songs whip
up and sustain emotion for the length of this near-frenzied album. Irony and
chic are one thing, but desperation is something else, and This World and
Body has plenty of it. "Yeah, oh yeah, I still want to know," Harding sings
in "Toys for Boys," truth and satisfaction always a bit beyond his reach.
-- Michael McKenzie
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