Like a Frank Sinatra from hell, Nick Marsh, lead singer with 1980's alternative rock luminaries 'Flesh for Lulu', and currently the lead guitarist with the riotous gypsy swing ensemble 'The Urban Voodoo Machine', has re-emerged with this haunting and timeless solo album. A Universe Between Us, is a radical departure from his Stateside chart successes and offers an altogether more intimate, poignant and classic approach to song-writing.
To listen to the album is like pulling up a stall beside some beaten barfly loosened by liquor, contemplating life, love and loss. Like Charles Bukowski, Marsh is poetic without being florid; reflective without being maudlin; brittle and brutal whilst also deeply romantic.
The titles of the songs reveal Marsh's love affair with nostalgic Americana. The Femme Fatale with The Smokin' Gun struts through the roach-riddled lyrics following the Midnight Cowboy call of Destiny Angel, whilst Red Hot & Ready pulses like a flashing neon light on the crumbling wall of a cheap hotel. A Universe Between Us, evokes filmic visuals: images pass, ephemeral but indelible. If there were a modern musical equivalent of Edward Hopper, Marsh might be it.
His story-telling ability and lyrical dexterity can also be compared to Leonard Cohen, for behind the melancholic facade is a stoical, self-deprecating sense of humour that allows Marsh to openly admit his failings with a rare comic candour. Marsh's epic, emotive voice which belted out hits with Flesh for Lulu such as 'I Go Crazy', 'Postcards From Paradise', and 'Subterraneans' has continued to grow in maturity and breadth.
A Universe Between Us is the result of Marsh's shift from old skool rock traditions, the consolidation of a broad sweep of influences absorbed over the last decade and an inspired collaboration with first time producer Katharine Blake. Blake, the founder of the No.1 selling classical act Mediaeval Baebes and avant garde/gothic band Miranda Sex Garden, provides the lithe and luxurious strings and additional vocals, whilst other guest performers include: Ray Hanson (Thee Hypnotics), Mike Servant (Miranda Sex Garden), Vince Johnson (Daisy Chainsaw), David Ryder-Prangely (Rachel Stamp), David Francolini (Levitation, Dark Star) and Matt Fisher (The Servant) to name but a few.
Marsh may have "the bus fare to nowhere" but along with Babylonian whores and shape-shifting aliens, he takes us on a seductive, sensational road trip of the heart.
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