Tiny Men Parts
Bubblewrap Collective, 2021
9/10
The Wales outfit Quiet Marauder shift away their lo-fi, bedroom pop beginnings here, where fuller tunes are fleshed out with much charm, a whole lot of unpredictability and often in a bizarre yet fascinating fashion.
“The Business Deal” starts the record with dual gender vocals as a gritty form of indie-rock builds with both calm and firm bursts, and “I Want A Moustache, Dammit” follows with a jangly approach where backing vocals are shouted in a quirky form of alt-folk.
There’s 9 tracks included here, and each one resides in its own unique category, including the more subdued “It Wasn’t Me, It Was The Moon” where warmth exists amid the festive energy, while “The Internal Monologue Date” rests in folk territory amid soothing vocals and a bit of twang, too. “Lucky Tonight", an especially fun tune, then recruits loud guitars and plenty of vocals contributing to the anthemic and playful climate.
Near the end, “Eggs!” flirts with psyche-rock alongside a dreamy landscape of swift, punky flavor, and “I Want A Moustache, II” exits the listen on the dance version of an earlier tune that sounds right at home in the ‘80s.
Tiny Men Parts is actually a condensed version of Quiet Maruder’s first album, Men, which amazingly contained 111 tracks. This reimagined version is so well done, I’m actually considering sitting down for the entire 111 songs of the original, as I feel pretty confident no one is making music like this, and I can’t help but feel that I’m missing out by not absorbing more.
Travels well with: They Might Be Giants- My Murdered Remains; R. Stevie Moore- Afterlife