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"With “Mood Swings”, Marcus King exposes his inner demons, trading in his guitar talent for a collection of desperately depressive soul tracks."
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2/5
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Marcus King disappoints every other time. After a soporific “El Dorado”, the bluesman had recovered with the excellent “Young Blood” and his return to Rock roots. But now the six-string prodigy delivers “Mood Swings”, a therapeutic album where the most depressive soul has definitely taken precedence over the incendiary riffs, leaving the drowsy listener more than once totally alienated from this cathartic stylistic exercise.
Right from the introduction, a disembodied voice speaks of depression, setting the tone for a record where Marcus King exposes his inner demons: addiction, suicidal thoughts, bipolar disorder. Serious subjects that would have deserved to be carried by raging riffs rather than soulful arrangements as smooth as a session at the shrink's.
From 'Save Me' to 'Bipolar Love', via the interminable 'F*ck Up My Life Again', the tracks follow one another in a hushed atmosphere where keyboards and strings have replaced guitar solos. Even when the latter makes a timid appearance, as on 'Delilah', it remains hopelessly restrained by an overflow of pathos and affect, preventing it from expressing itself beyond the bare minimum.
Yet the album is not without its qualities. Admittedly, King's voice has never been so expressive. On 'This Far Gone' in particular, his falsetto recalls Marvin Gaye and the heyday of seventies soul. But in choosing to put away his guitar and don the costume of a tormented crooner, the American has lost his way in an artistic direction that leaves us perplexed, to say the least.
This quest for a new musical identity, already begun on “El Dorado”, reaches its climax here. Unfortunately, in trying too hard to reinvent himself, Marcus King forgets what makes him so strong. Rick Rubin's polished production only accentuates this feeling of artistic bewilderment, and the listener emerges from this listening experience as dejected as Marcus King seems to be himself. Robert Johnson had the devil at his heels, Marcus King has his inner demons. But depression doesn't make the blues, and “Mood Swings” is blatant proof of that.
- Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Mood Swings - 3:25 02. F*ck My Life Up Again - 4:19 03. Soul It Screams - 3:30 04. Save Me - 4:54 05. Hero - 3:16 06. Delilah - 4:24 07. Inglewood Motel (Halestorm) - 5:20 08. This Far Gone - 3:03 09. Bipolar Love - 6:10 10. Me Or Tennessee - 4:22 11. Cadillac - 3:08
LINEUP:
Andy Gabbard: Guitares Chris St. Hilaire: Batterie Marcus King: Chant / Guitares Nick Movshon: Basse
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