“This is ludicrous music for ludicrous times, and satire for life in late capitalism.”
British artist Oliver Marson blends music from the 60s, 70s, and 80s to create a catchy baroque pop sound lampooning the dark societal underbelly and unhinged capitalism, in the vein of The Divine Comedy, Serge Gainsbourg, Scott Walker, David Bowie, Neil Hannon, and Talk Talk. Marson’s music is vibrant, exuberant, and unpredictable; inspired heavily by the lyrical work of Alex Cameron in his parody of toxic masculinity, and also the work of Jonathan Bree, Kirin J Callinan, and more. The tracks themselves feature Christina Lopez on drums, bassist Charles Cave (White Lies), and some vocals from For Breakfast lead vocalist, Maya Harrisson.
His latest offering, “Andalusian Girl,” is a swaggering anthem of snowballing disappointment; a Shakespearean tragedy set in a seedy nightclub.
“The song is a satiric take on a lad’s holiday gone wrong. It involves a toxic male character; a city type that tries to impress someone through sheer bravado and showing off…oblivious to the fact she has no interest in him whatsoever. The lyrics are tragic, comic, and dark all at once. Recorded and wrote it at home during the pandemic.”
The video, a performance number directed by Ben Leggett, shows the band performing in the fog machine-smoked basement of a dive bar, his exaggerated dancing verging on Rick Astley levels of tongue-in-cheek cringe. It’s perfect – he’s the guy at the wedding you want to avoid at the open bar; the guy who has the cheesiest pickup lines. The song is a banger, though, so maybe anything goes tonight after all.
Watch below:
A multi-instrumentalist who writes and records his own music, Marson collaborated with Joshua Rumble (Black Country, New Road), and producer Jorge Elbrecht (Japanese Breakfast, Tamaryn) for mixing duties. Marson has played shows with M!R!M, White Devil Disco (ex-Fat White Family’s bassist Joseph Panucci), Ghum, Minimal Schlager, and Silent Star in London, Paris, Manchester and Nottingham.
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