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Wednesday, October 8, 2008

CD Review: Chris Marz - Follow Me


Chris Marz - Follow Me
2008, Chris Marz


Chris Marz is a multi-instrumentalist/vocalist from Long Beach, CA who has a strong local following and a talent for writing literate, tuneful rock songs. Along with his band, Will Raff (bass) and Matt Lesser (drums), Marz creates pop/rock magic on six strings. His debut CD, Follow Me, was recently released independently. This one is worth hearing.

Follow Me opens with the title track, a dark and halting tune full of paranoid angst. Disappearing Act follows sounding like Paul Simon singing with The Lowest Of The Low. To say that Chris Marz sounds like a dark aspect of Paul Simon's personality seems more and more apropos to me with each listen. Anything displays an adept understanding of song craft and melody, and is very reminiscent of Paul Simon's writing style. Replica shakes things up with a guitar/drum duet at its heart that serves as the heliocentric point for this song's orbit. Replica may be the best song on the album. It's thoroughly unexpected and unique.

Also check out Idly By, a musical monologue full of powerful imagery and self-awareness. Now That You're Gone is also an absolute gem, and might be just hair's breadth behind Replica for best song here. Other highlights include Ghost In My Head and Final Hour.

Chris Marz is a true singer-songwriter. His voice and writing style are reminiscent of Paul Simon, but at the same time he is quite unique and original in his presentation. Marz is an extremely talented lyricist and has an amazing sense of melody. Follow Me is not just an album title but an invitation that you'll be glad you accepted.

Rating: 4.5 Stars (Out of 5)

You can learn more about Chris Marz at http://www.chrismarz.com/ or www.myspace.com/chrismarz. You can purchase a copy of Follow Me at www.earbuzz.com/chrismarz.

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