Secretly Canadian
2007
Florist Fired
About This Album
The last time we heard from Marmoset before Florist Fired was 2002's Mishawaka EP, but it almost doesn't matter how long they take between releases: the band always feels slightly out of time. Marmoset's shambling, chugging indie rock -- a dry, droll, Midwestern take on the looser side of British post-punk and psychedelic pop -- seems more in sync with the sound the style's heroes were making back in the early to mid-'90s than with any of their late-'90s or 2000s contemporaries. Guided by Voices is a frequent comparison point, and songs like this album's "Personality Candyspots" won't dissuade those comparisons anytime soon, but on Florist Fired, Marmoset sounds most like themselves, borrowing sounds and approaches from their earlier work. The album begins with a flurry of dizzying song snippets like the bouncy, distorted "Toe Tapper" and "I Saw Your Shadow," a prime example of the murky, experimental sound the band delves into from time to time and which can grate on all but the most die-hard Marmoset fans. It's not the most promising start, especially for a band that's been gone for half a decade, but eventually Florist Fired straightens out just enough to deliver a string of songs that rank with the band's finest.
Track List (try tracks 2,9,10,12 and 16)

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