Review: Mari Chrome – ‘Georgy#11811′

MARI CHROME
‘Georgy#11811′
ALFA MATRIX

Inspired by the silent film Metropolis (as well as the Giorgio Moroder soundtrack most likely), this German synth duo by the name of Mari Chrome have endeavoured to create a rich and diverse ebm album. Given the band’s individual pedigrees plus the production of John Fryer (Depeche Mode, Skinny Puppy, HIM etc.) as well as guitar contributions from Chai Deveraux (Jesus On Extasy) expectations will be very high for this début.

Fortunately the band’s first steps live up to the hype with it immediately evident that this isn’t simply a vanity project. The band’s palette blends 80s new wave, synthpop, ebm and darkwave to create a very deep sound which is always crowned with Marion Aseema Küchenmeister’s stunning vocal performances.

It is a refreshingly intelligent approach to the genre that doesn’t rely on buzzwords and dance beats to create a potential hit, but rather the band approach each song with an ambition to create something that will last a long time. It doesn’t always work though, there are one or two songs such as ‘The Seeker’ which fall into rather contrived europop territory. However there are plenty of stand out tracks present that make such infrequent slip-ups forgiveable. Tracks like ‘Here I Am’, ‘Without You’, ‘Come With Me’ as well as the brilliant covers of The Cure’s ‘A Forest’ and New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’ really show what a great pairing this is.

Mari Chrome have really strived to create something a little different and interesting that doesn’t just rely on formulaic ebm to create a catchy song. Instead it invites the listener to do just that… listen to the music, absorb it and relate to it beyond their comfort zones. Yes it doesn’t always quite work out as planned, but this is a first step and will hopefully be the first in a long line.

[3/5]