This is the 13th album from the Aylesbury-based band and this time they decided to pull out all the stops and produce a double CD collection of songs for the faithful. Once again, the fans paid the band in advance so fund their promotional push for this record and, if we are lucky, the band might just get a number 1 single out of this.
As a band that complains that they aren’t progressive rock, the album opens with a 12-minute track called “The Invisible Man”. This song builds on the loops and atmospheres laid down by “This is the 21st Century” from their previous album and is quite an atmospheric opener, despite some of the lyrics owing a nod to TS Eliot (naturally).
Throughout the album there are four smaller tracks called “Marbles I-IV” which provide the narrative thread. These songs deal with that sense of loss that goes hand-in-hand with getting older and that loss of innocence.
The song “Genie” seems catchy enough, but “Fantastic Place” seems as if it is a track from “Holidays in Eden” and “The Only Unforgiveable Thing” is completely throwaway. The first CD ends with another epic track called “Ocean Cloud” that deals with isolation and introspection again, the isolation of the ocean rower sailing across the Atlantic. Clocking in at nearly 15 minutes, this veers from quiet reflection to excited dynamism, but, for me, doesn’t quite manage to get off the ground.
The second CD fares much better. “The Damage” and “Don’t Hurt Yourself” instantly clicked with me and by the time the new single “You’re Gone” hit the speakers, I realised that we were onto something here. “Angelina” slows down the pace and is not a track that I am particularly enamoured with and then the album picks up again with “Drilling Holes” in which the band sound as if it has been listening to too many Beatles records.
The album closes with “Neverland” another mighty prog-rock epic. This time around though, the band nails it. It is the perfect closer to this record and sweeps you along from the get go.
The main problem with this record is the fact that it spans two CDs and for your money you get nearly 90 minutes of music. While some of you might think this is a good thing, I think the band could have made an extremely good 72-minute single album. Saying some of the tracks are filler would be unfair, but some songs naturally stand out more than others. The first disc feels a bit aimless while the second disc grabs you by the neck and drags you along.
So do I recommend it? Of course. Is it any good? Some of the music on Marbles is the best the band has done in a while. It is just a shame that there’s just too much music to get through in a single listen.

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