Lock up your daughters! Mardo are live-wire energy incarnate. They are an amalgamation of styles so diverse they defy description. This straight-driving caffeinated rock combo, led by brothers Aron and Robbie, follows in the vein of other great sibling collaborations – Ray and Dave Davies (The Kinks), Tim and Neil Finn (Crowded House, Split Enz), Liam and Noel Gallagher (Oasis) and Chris and Nic Cester (Jet). Yet they also remain shrouded in mystery. Sometimes reclusive, sometimes enigmatic, very chameleonic, the band channels its unparalleled power into its music and the results are at once comfortingly familiar but distinctly all their own.
Mardo plays melodic rock written for arenas that sounds just as good on acoustic guitars. Whether performing live or on record, this rapid-rising band will take you on a vast musical journey across genres and generations – from ‘70s glam through Motown soul to stadium rock and back again. Their self-titled debut will be released on House of Restitution Records on February 8, 2005.
Currently, four of the forthcoming album’s songs are being played on Mark Sovel‘s “Check One-Two” show on Indie-103 FM, including their pulse-pounding cover of Huey Lewis’ “I Want A New Drug.” The station is also planning to add their music into rotation throughout the rest of its programming schedule. Furthermore, Hybrid Magazine has already heralded the new CD as the “best power-rock album of the 2000’s,” and their live shows do nothing but give genuine credo to that acclamation.
Aron and Robbie were raised on good music and an appreciation for all things musical in a small farm town in Central California. They are two brothers with a great sense of self-assurance, who are steeped in melody, rhythm and style to boot.
“Coming from a small town allowed us to develop into something all our own, not having been influenced by the flavor of the month or becoming jaded by hearing the same old thing over and over again,” said Robbie. “When everyone else was listening to Bel Biv Devoe, I was listening to Pink Floyd, Miles Davis, The Who and The Kinks records. I didn’t even own a CD until high school.” But it didn’t keep the brothers from starting their extraordinary collection of rare vintage guitars, which has become both their pride and joy and an emblem of where their musical passion and tastes lie.
Their father, an avid music lover, was also a huge influence in their lives. He kept the vinyl spinning and brought them to their very first concerts, including performances by some of the most influential musicians of all time - Paul McCartney, Ray Charles, Tom Petty – all of whom have in some way inspired the eclectic Mardo style.
― donut debonair (donut), Thursday, 2 June 2005 01:42 (nineteen years ago)
the word "chameleonic" is the last thing that comes to mind when I look at that picture.
― miccio (miccio), Thursday, 2 June 2005 01:51 (nineteen years ago)
“When everyone else was listening to Bel Biv Devoe, I was listening to Pink Floyd, Miles Davis, The Who and The Kinks records. I didn’t even own a CD until high school.”You need a professional water pick to pierce the authenticity, it's so rich.
― donut debonair (donut), Thursday, 2 June 2005 01:54 (nineteen years ago)
I look at those "influences" and think, is this the first POST-HONGRO band??
― haitch (haitch), Thursday, 2 June 2005 01:58 (nineteen years ago)
"...the results are at once comfortingly familiar but distinctly all their own.
Mardo plays melodic rock written for arenas that sounds just as good on acoustic guitars."
Just what every band wants to be... comfortingly familiar but distinctly all their own. Next, you're gonna tell me they have great influences but they do a lot to step out of the shadow of those influences!
― Danger Mouse (Dave M), Thursday, 2 June 2005 02:04 (nineteen years ago)
From the Guitar Center magazine article:
We also love recording to analog tape—as well as knowing that everything won’t get erased if a computer crashes!
Because, you see, analog comes with its own save button! You actually have to HIT it on a computer, and NOBODY does that!
― donut debonair (donut), Saturday, 4 June 2005 05:13 (nineteen years ago)
I found a Mardo CD used in Second Spin around here the other day, Donut! I larfed.
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Thursday, 16 June 2005 23:25 (nineteen years ago)