Album Review: Scissors & Suckers – Mick Bassett and the Marthas

Scissors & Suckers is the latest from Mick Bassett & The Marthas, a handmade 7-song DIY release that joins the band’s strong discography of one other EP and a vinyl single. Stripped down vocals-and-piano opener “Don’t You Miss My Ghost?” sets the overall palette of the band well: it’s Bassett’s wooden, beyond-his-years –and some might find slightly unsettling– voice that dominates, even when the full band (which features a trombone) kicks in on successive songs. Not to say that the sum of the record’s parts doesn’t ooze with its own personality, from the locked-in jam on the title track jam, the breezy “Give You The City” and the haunted New Orleans funeral procession of “Bird On The Line”: the Marthas emanate with a classic sound that betrays their years. The song on the record that most captures the energy witnessed at their live performance is “So I’ll Spend All My Time Stuck Right In The Middle”, our featured track. And speaking of live shows, the band has plenty in the immediate future. Spend money on them: I can’t wait for a proper LP.

Featured Track:
“So I’ll Spend All My Time Stuck Right In The Middle”

Catch Mick Bassett & The Marthas at Sleek Speek Presents at The Lager House April 17th, 2009.