The Marseille Figs are fast becoming my favorite new artists of the decade, if not the century. The eclectic trio play a startling variety of instruments in an indescribable blend of styles, reminding me of peak Violent Femmes at times, Tom Waits at others, with some Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Cash Family for country cred.
Their new EP, Jumbo, is a superb addition to their canon. Jumbo’s title track, a cross between Sergio Leone cowboy soundtrack and Godzilla monster music, has overtones of sinister circus music as well, a menacing, uptempo song about an elemental force that threatens the Earth.
The remaining five tracks keep the heat on: My Latest Mistake is a sweet C&W-inflected song with a stompin’ clappin’ back-beat about a complete screw up who fails at everything; Bad Bad Baby is more explicitly country, opening with “You done me wrong again and you done me wrong again,” and hews to the heart-broke formula except when it doesn’t, breaking into a roller-disco bridge that works in a way that is totally unexpected and altogether delightful; The Human Tragedy is another countrified screw-up’s lament with accordion and hilarity; the standout on the album is the ballad The Long Goodbye, a drinker’s anthem with a slow tinkling piano intro, transitioning into a swaying, horn-heavy drinking song.
My friend Stef, who introduced me to the Figs, calls them a “small big band,” a trio whose prodigious musical talents and strange arrangements make them a genre unto themselves.
Jumbo is for sale on CD, digital download and 12″ vinyl.
There’s a launch party tomorrow night, too, at the Iambic Bar in London!