Marty Lloyd
Marigold
Razor and Tie
Fans of Dave Matthews will know what to expect from former Freddy Jones Band vocalist Marty Lloyd on his solo debut. Less jam-based than his former outfit, Lloyd goes the whole generic mile to radio rock land, and ends up justly pigeonholed with the Hooties, the Sprockets and the Matchbox 20s of the world.
It’s a source of constant amazement how such “authentic” music and “genuine” lyricism continually fail to express any convincingly personal sentiments, instead opting for worn-out clichés and bland dullness. Lloyd sings in that same semi-hoarse voice as his partners in crime, using that same instrumentation; and damn, aren’t those the same songs? Apparently not, but there’s no way I’d be able to tell without the aid of songwriting credits.
Admittedly, some exception shall be made for the super banal but quite catchy “Fall From Grace,” along with the decent title track, but those are the odd ones out. Marigold is an album of inconsequential middle-of-the-road radio rock, perfectly generic and easily digestible. There’s an audience out there that will buy it for the comfortably numbing sounds it makes, but the rest of us will want to pass on this.
Razor and Tie Records: http://www.razorandtie.com/
