Although the 1980s have been retrospectively airbrushed with neon blues and pinks, reality was far darker. Skinhead riots, the impending threat of nuclear war and the decline of British industry were all played out against a backdrop of urban decay. Thankfully such conditions are conducive to great art and that’s precisely where The March Violets step in. Formed in Leeds, 1981, this collective were very much of their era, yet their ethereal, other-worldly sound transcends time, remaining fresh and vital. Not content to rest on past glories, the band are about to release their third album, a record which flutters like a moth around a flame, Crocodile Promises.
It’s a hard line for an established band to walk; it’s a tightrope between pleasing their core fanbase and tending their own creative fire, but The March Violets have chosen the later and in doing so can’t help but sate their fans. With vocalist Rosie Garland delivering her poetic lyrics with a vampire-esque drawl and guitarist Tom Ashton stitching the songs together with taut lines, the band create a haunting sound and that’s exactly what opening song ‘Hammer The Last Nail’ serves up. It’s darkly psychedelic and swirls around the listener in concentric circles; like the steps towards Dante’s Inferno or a spiral staircase descending towards a lake of fire, Crocodile Promises is strangely inviting.
Unlike much gothic rock that’s often furnished with a thin and brittle productions, this album sounds warm and luxurious and wraps us up in a fuzzy ball of Novocaine. It renders the listener vulnerable to the band’s dark charms and the result is not unlike a cat toying with a mouse. It also makes the perfect foil for Ashton’s razor sharp guitars and the result is a dreamlike sound that exists somewhere between wake and sleep. ‘Virgin Sheep’ is a prime example with Garland’s lyrics becoming a kind of dark berceuse that lulls us towards a different state. Yet, The March Violets can also deal in harsh reality, such as the treatise on depression ‘Mortality’.
The March Violets are evolutionary rather than revolutionary; they are not seeking to reinvent the wheel, yet there’s enough invention to elevate the band from their peers. To me, this album does sound like the early eighties, deserted British Rail platform beneath grey, leaden skies with a monochrome rainbow overhead. However, there’s a contemporary edge to tracks such as ‘Heading For The Fire’ that anchors The March Violets firmly in the present while final track ‘This Way Out’ suggests the band are going to be around for a while.
An album of dark delights, of truths hidden in secrets, and razorblades secreted in apples. Crocodile Promises, indeed.
- Crocodile Promises is released via Metropolis Records on 19th July 2024.
- Official Website | Facebook | Instagram
Track List:
- Hammer The Last Nail
- Bite The hand
- Virgin Sleep
- Kraken Awakes
- Mortality
- World Away From Kind
- Crocodile Teeth
- Heading For The Fire
- This Way Out
