The Steamkings play a high-energy style of guitar pop that brings to mind great bands like the Boo Radleys and the completely unrecognized Jane Pow. Much like the Boos, the Steamkings layer their hooky and dynamic songs with keyboards and horns quite effectively. Beginning with Marmalized's opener, "Starting Something," to the final track, the record is filled with hooks and surprises. Too bad the record is also filled with Mark Richardson's vocals. He has one of those voices that can at best be described as an acquired taste. Sometimes incredibly pinched and sometimes soaring right past its limits, he manages to divert all the attention from the well-crafted music and place it squarely on himself, which might not be a terrible thing but his lyrics are no great shakes. The Boo Radleys had this problem with lyrics at times too, but their vocals were so beautiful that one could look past the occasional clunky couplets. Here Richardson tries too hard to be interesting, it seems, and merely comes off as affected. He also contributes another in the seemingly endless parade of homages to the Beatles with "Rickenbacker," a song that celebrates Paul McCartney and his Rickenbacker guitar. Why he didn't title it Hofner, which is the guitar that McCartney is most associated with, or talk about Lennon's or Harrison's Rickenbacker is a real head scratcher. This gaffe may be enough to sink the entire record for the true pop music geek. For non-obsessive pop fans, it may not be that big of a deal, and if you can get past the vocals and lyrics, Marmalized is actually a quite enjoyable record.
© Tim Sendra /TiVo