Marnie - Strange Words And Weird Wars FLAC download

This second LP from Helen Marnie sees her create lines in the sand between herself & Ladytron.While 2013’s Crystal World was mainly produced by Ladytron founder Daniel Hunt (and it definitely sounded like a proper Ladytron album), for the follow up Helen has decided to remove herself completely from the band.The results of this separation are surprising, yet still reassuring.We start off with Alphabet Block, and you’re instantly in a strange territory if you were expecting pure Ladytron.It sounds very pop, much more so than before. A light, breezy sound. You can almost imagine Helen in the uk top 40 pop charts with this!It’s gonna sound a little too pop for hardcore Ladytron fans on first listen, but let it in. An amazing album awaits!Bloom pretty much keeps this formula, but incredibly with even more catchyness! A great fast tempo carries the track along, with a sweet swinging melody. Absolute, pure Pop!An absolute joy. Helen’s lyrics on this album are great.Next there is possibly my personal favourite on the entire album. G.I.R.L.S. has a chorus that evokes the best of early 80’s New Wave, pure class. The synth work has also to be commended on this album, fanastic playing and feeling.Electric Youth was chosen as the main lead single from the album.It’s a very sharp track, quite simple. You get a definite “mid 80’s Miami” vibe (just think Miami Vice). It’s a nice track, but I don’t think it’s one of the strongest here.The a-side ends with A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night.It’s a beautiful, floating ballad. Before you think it, no it’s not quite the same as Beauty*2 or All The Way. This song has a rawness about it, the individuality. This is not Ladytron.Lost Maps starts off the b-side in grand style. This is quite Ladytron.A steady tempo & glacier synths sit below Helen’s icy vocals. Then BOOM.Holy shit. Devastating chrous. I sit in stunned silence every time I hear this song. It’s comparable to MFTM era DM. You could imagine Dave sing this.My god this album just doesn’t give up! The next track is Summer Boys. Guess what? Yeah, it’s AMAZING TOO.The backing music in this track reminds me of Com Truise & Boards Of Canada. A very wonky, reminiscent sound. The song is like floating on water, your face up to the sky.For a ballad it’s very inventive and you can just let yourself dream, away in the feeling.Anyway, next is Little Knives. It’s a spiky number. Helen goes all Industrial on a few lines, but it has a pop chorus. It’s like a pop song caught in a struggle with NIN. Not one of my favourites, but definitely enjoyable.Invisible Girl starts off with a very Eurythmics vibe, before going into pure Goldfrapp (Head First era). Bright, breezy and full of life. A simply wonderful song, with particularly heartfelt lyrics from Helen.We end the album with Heartbreak Kid. A beautiful song to end the album.Great work Helen, this is a superb LP.

I agree, it's a fantastic album. It was my favorite new release of 2017 and I'm still playing it frequently a year later. To me it holds up just as well as her work with Ladytron, which is high praise. While it does explore a more pop-oriented and perhaps more accessible sound overall, it's still not too far removed from her music with the band either, and it is just as layered and engaging to reward repeated listening. The same knack for crafting memorable melodic hooks framed with sleek synth textures that brought attention to Ladytron carries over successfully to this album. If it's less experimental and more focused on the traditional pop-song structure, it certainly doesn't suffer at all as a result. While I definitely look forward to the next Ladytron album in the works, I'm equally interested to hear Marnie's future solo work.