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If you're old enough to recall Gerry Anderson TV shows such as UFO, then you'll understand me when I say Romance Of Young Tigers sound like the closing music. Grandiose, epic, blasted noises from the depths of space. This music crashes and crackles with menaceing sounds that reinforce the feeling of being very alone and very insignificant. Yes, we are a long way from home and it's utterly terrifying.
Here are two tracks, Marie 1 and Marie 2 - each lasts over 15 minutes and each takes shape very slowly after a period of virtual silence. Though both versions of Marie are distinct, they are clearly interwoven. We once likened ROYT to "God's band, tuning up". They now sound like the Gods themselves - dark, powerful entities with unfathomable motives. This, remember, is a magazine where we especially like to talk about artists moving beyond the expectations and limitations of musical genres. With this in mind, is it stretching credibility to report that I find myself asking, "Are ROYT moving beyond music altogether?" Marie is so downright alien that it begs such questions.
Apologies then for those who clicked in hoping for one of those reviews along the lines of "a little bit of x, mixed with y & z". Sorry, forget it. Try…somewhere else. I can only shape it in the following terms. The monolith from 2001, a collapsed star ,or a lone Astronaut hovering the sentient ocean from Solaris. All these images could be set to the resonating sounds of Marie EP.
Utterly devastating.
Footnote:
The EP tracks were recorded live without overdubs.
The disc comes in distinctive ROYT handmade artwork, this time, a Hessian sack reminiscent of Joy Division's Still.
On very limited release.
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