Review: Chet Faker & Marcus Marr – Work
Australian folk-soul king Chet Faker has returned to our stereos with a very different sound. The EP, “Work”, features the production work of London DJ, Marcus Marr. Annastasia Robertson checks it out:
There’s a smooth, sultry rasp to Faker’s voice which makes his sound typically quite relaxing and soulful. He’s no stranger to teaming his voice with electric sounds, working with producer and fellow Australian, Flume, on the track ‘Drop The Game’ in 2012.
Opening track ‘Birthday Card’ is a combination of dulcet electronic beats mixed with 90s trance. There’s so many moments of build-up, which never completely reach its full potential. Faker’s vocals are as perfectly imperfect as ever, with that beautiful rasp of his losing its way atop of the deep house cuts.
‘The Trouble With Us’ is by far the highlight of this EP, showing that the duo is certainly a decent match. It’s the expulsion of funk in this track that really demands attention, and catapults Faker out of a indie-soul pigeonhole into a funky, poppy and dancey world where the range of his vocals can shine bright.
In a seamless transition, ‘Learning For Your Love’ carries on the funk, yet allows Marr to show off his talent, proving he is now much more than just a Soundcloud DJ. This 6 minute and 30 second song is really the crux of the EP, and is a perfect execution of Faker and Marr’s individual talents coming together in harmonious unison. There are moments of soft instrumentals which create small intermissions between verses, allowing enticing build-ups until Faker’s voice features again.
End track, ‘Killing Jar’ brings back the indie-folk-soul tones of Faker’s voice, coupled with a much more paired back melody to the first four tracks. It’s a relaxing, emulsifying sound that has an oceanic vibe. Once again, the moments of soft instrumentals are an incredibly transfixing sound which act as breaks where Marr’s melody is championed.
For an EP that was recorded in four days, Chet Faker and Marcus Marr have created an experimentally interesting few tracks. In an opportunity to show that there’s much more to Chet Faker than previously shown, he’s also provided a spotlight on Marcus Marr, who has proven DJ talent.
‘Work’ EP is out now via Detail Records
Review by Annastasia Robertson.
