John Squire - 'Marshall's House' (North Country)
3/5
By: Kevin Molloy
The first instant Squire's drawl rolls out of his second, full-length LP to invade your eardrums is, best depicted, a mysterious moment. Part of you wants to scrape out the gravel that's grating your very spine, but the other half is listening to pure, rough around-the-edges-and-through-to-the-middle sincerity in motion. Squire's broken vocal is as compelling as it is untrained (he started learning to sing later on in life, you know).
Its home this time - 'Marshall's House': named after a painting by 'quintessential American realist painter' Edward Hopper, as are all of the track-titles on this album. Apparently, Squire owned a Hopper calendar, and was so inspired that he decided to create an LP based upon the art (tying in nicely with his ever-increasing dedication to the cause - he has recently had a showing of his paintings at the ICA). This, for better or worse, has led to some rather obscure titles and themes: 'Lighthouse and Buildings, Portland Head, Cape Elizabeth, Maine', or 'Yawl Riding a Swell' (as in a small boat on a big wave - Scurvy-Gums Ed). Sometimes such tact of robbing the name of a painting directly works wonders for his poetic imagination, as with the opening rocker 'Summertime'. But when considering 'Yawl...', it can also seem forced, if not entirely nonsensical.
But, no matter, one thing about this album is that it feels so good that such artificiality barely troubles the mind at all. The airy, bluesy riffage that runs it through is reminiscent of, at its rockiest, Zeppelin (Squire did actually have an ill-fated foray into the world of the rock band with post-'Roses venture, The Seahorses); but unfortunately, at its least offensive, of Paul Weller. But here is nothing so tidily presented - this is a deliberately messy work, and though well-produced, it sounds as if it's all been recorded in a smoky bar, full of old, drunk men jamming their piece into the final din.
Indeed, it is noticeable that Squire has retreated, sound-wise, into much safer ground. The songs work to a common formula, and despite changes of instrument and tempo end up sounding very similar - all of them seeming like vague re-treads of first single 'Room in Brooklyn'.
We leave the album to a fading blues guitar-solo over a warmly pulsing organ (don't be childish), and, admirably, the invigorated mood of the LP is left savagely hanging over. So whilst 'Marshall's House' won't change your life, you wouldn't want it to - it'll just make you feel better (and maybe get you into obscure-ish art in the process).
Artists in this article: John Squire
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