Marty Thompson releases third record My Kind Of Woman amongst an atmosphere of psychedelic rock backed up by numerous original ideas.
Marty Thompson has never been one to rely on the tried and tested. He likes to constantly test new ideas in his music amidst a psychedelic atmosphere that doesn’t grow old over the years. New EP My Kind Of Woman continues this trend but also pushes the boundaries even more as multi-layered instruments and vocals battle for the foreground amongst experimental synths, punk rock chords and bluesy riffs.
Opening track Hope Is A Waking Dream throws us right into the artist’s unique combinations of sound as the track focuses on heavy grunge beats and guitars played against punk space synths – think of a more electronic Syd Barrett on Pink Floyd’s early material. Thompson’s lyrics allow the psychedelica elements to dance around a 90s rock vibe, with bands Zombies and Cake completing this strange mix of influences.
Paint What You Think takes on a fast-paced punk theme, speeding through chords with inclinations towards REM are discovered in vocal tones. These are then pitted against country rock connotations and riff-laden guitars that push it into the abyss. EP-titled track My Kind of Woman makes good use of melody structure as tied back guitars intersperse within a psych-blues number that’s happy to saunter along, whereas Patience uses an effortlessly addictive beat amongst strong, hypnotizing rhythms. Each track really does have its own tone with Thompson throwing away the rule book every time. Whether this distracts or compliments the overall sound of the record is for the listener to figure out, but at times it can feel just a little disjointed because of this.
M.C. Zebra ends the record in a more calming atmosphere as the epic 7-minute track floats through a plethora or psychedelic ideas, building up without vocals and amidst interspersing wave sounds at the front and back of the track. A brave finish that does go some way to pulling everything together.
My Kind of Woman features many ideas, with most of them able to form a coherent and pleasing EP. The record is touted as a synthy, psychedelic punk rock piece, and yes, it does include all these styles, but in areas, it needs to make this an ongoing idea to allow the record to feel like an entire piece. Despite this, the EP makes an impressive stance to not be pigeonholed, with some fantastic production and strong melodies that make for an interesting and fearless record.
Score: 3.5/5
By Jamie Parmenter