Denison Marrs - Self/Titled
Label: Floodgate Records
Style: Indie Pop, Alternative
Released: 2004
My Grade: 4 stars
AMG: n/a
Sounds like: The Juliana Theory, Switchfoot, Anberlin


I had a folder on my desktop titled ‘Finish It’ and it contained various reviews that I would get stuck on for some reason or another; I placed them in the folder in hopes of sitting down and finishing them up, instead they would sit there for months and it would become like a trashcan for things I just could not do.

This album was sitting there for months. Not because I didn’t like it, or because I was overloaded, very simply it was there because I did not know how to explain it. This album should not be hard to explain because it sounds like the natural progression of each previous Denison Marrs album, and yet I got stuck up on how to adequately explain them without making them out to be another faceless, bland emo-rock band. No one should ever confuse them with the current faceless crowds in music, because they are so much more – and I don’t say that strictly because I am a fan of the underdog.

So with that, let me review their latest album.

Everything Denison Marrs does seems to be a struggle. Each album has been a progression of struggling between indie-rock and pop stardom, from pretentious art house musicians to lowly rockers, they have straddled the middle and have yet to find some solid ground. I have to admit that Denison Marrs does try, they have a voice that is struggling to be heard. Their self titled release could be viewed as a step backwards, or a step forwards…They do step away from the layered emotional, anthemic rock of the last album and create a much more stripped, bare rock sound; but at the same time it sounds like a natural progression. The beauty in each song is difficult to ignore and the production gives it the slightly rough edges needed to make a true artistic statement.

Lead singer Eric Collins has a vocal style that could be explained as a mi mixture of Bono and Chris Martin, and at times the vocals soar to almost slavish imitation – all without distracting from the whole. Imitation is not always a bad thing, especially when the band themselves sound nothing like Coldplay or U2, the sonic layers created meander in and out of hooks, and the delivery is something noteworthy.

So it can be a step back, or a step forward, depending on your rock leanings, but in any case it truly is a worthy catch; and in itself highly recommended.

Reviewed by: Samuel Aaron