Hiddenforbidden

Falling backward to the sounds of post-punk art, mid-west boredom and sickle cells, Marmoset start behind us in the game though finish first. Known to double-jump their contemporaries, hurdle guitars, drop the drums and land left of center, Marmoset sits either in the foul box or the winner’s circle. Hated by the ass-backward hicks who threw 80 cent drafts at the chicken wire fence, Marmoset managed to persevere. Thankfully some bar slugs began to realize a song can miss the two-minute mark and still contain decades-worth of songwriting genius. Comprised of sounds from the past, present and virtual future, hiddenforbidden surprises and confuses. No other group of abused, self-debasing musicians could have created a recording so genuine.

Fronted by songwriter and aesthetic taste-maker, Jorma Whittaker, the 29-year-old misfit misanthrope leads Marmoset out of the starting gate and over to the bar. Given the ability to make a blissful, coherent song, Jorma’s key is simplicity, but that’s not without a sacrifice to conventional structural stability.

Hiddenforbidden combines the jagged guitar of late 70’s Wire with a sense of Swell Maps experimentation. Though Marmoset are not some throw back to days of raincoats and frowns, this recording is definitely a release of 1990’s American independent rock. Jorma can sound like a misty romantic or an amphetamine-induced psycho, depending on which two-minute song you juke.