MARSKE ‘Swell’

This album played our lockdown sensitivities like a fiddle. If art does hold a mirror up to life, then these are the places a mirror shouldn’t always be. Swell is the debut album from spoken word performer and visual artist, Marske, in collaboration with music maker, Geoff Kirkwood. You’ll pick up shades of Underworld, Cooper Clarke, and Mike Skinner, but this doesn’t pull any punches in its own mawkish manner. There is a brutal honesty when reflecting on the demon booze, and feelings of inadequacy, as our protagonist drifts through middle age. When he states, ‘I can’t get out the fucking house, and yeah, I’m drinking’, we can feel the walls closing in. The looped dub-like beats give the impression of being locked on rails headed for an inevitable demise. There’s respite with wry quips on social media and the mention of love, but overall, this leaves us with a feeling of desolation. So, call us martyrs, but we’ve had it on repeat.