To pigeon-hole this band is near impossible; take the sophisticated blues swagger of the Kings of Leon, add some raw White Stripes-esque melody, and mix in infectious stoner-like grooves which even the Queens of The Stone Age would be proud of. Young Glaswegians Marshan take influences from the music they love and mash it all together without hesitance. The result is a debut album of feel good blues rock songs which range from the thumping anthemic style of 'Shake Yourself', 'Mind Dryer' and 'Letdowns and Turnarounds', to the more chilled laid back stylings of 'Sweet Things Suck', 'Roger, Heat The Plate'. A truly eclectic mix.

The guitar work here is amazing; fast-paced rock n roll melodies are fired off to no end, turning to gentle rhythmic strums for the more delicate tracks, before taking pace and bouncing off the walls again. 'Bonsai' shows that this band is not afraid of (to put it simply) playing whatever the hell they want; a short (only 1 minute 30 seconds approx.) instrumental track built around a delicate guitar melody. A brilliant and beautiful piece of music that many bands would be incredibly proud to have written.

'Songs From Southern and Baseline' is a brilliant debut and Marshan should be immensely proud to have produced something this good. The maturity and talent shown on this album is way beyond anything anyone could expect from a debut full length.

Rating: 4/5 by Chris Impey

Tracklisting

1. Shake Yourself
2. Mind Dryer
3. Sweet Things Suck
4. Letdowns and Turnarounds
5. Roger, Heat The Plate
6. Whiskey and The Steamer
7. Bonsai
8. Out of Sight
9. She's Gone
10. Superbrick

Further links

Marshan rock.com

Official home of eclectic rock band Marshan

Funbag Records.com

Glasgow based label, home to Marshan