Marian Call has been at this since her debut “Vanilla” in 2007. 168 songs on nineteen releases later (at least), including the “Fun Singles” EP, and six other singles, “Swears” and “Cusses” is the second release after her Ten Albums In Ten Years which culminated with “Standing Stones” in February 2017.
Physically you’ll find Marian in Alaska. Virtually you’ll find her on Twitter. This is where I found her some ten+ years ago but it wasn’t until now that I delved into her back catalogue to find out who drives those tweets.
Marian‘s is a wide-ranging voice which is accompanied by her own guitar and piano as well as friends on woodwinds, brass, and various strings. From Max Sharam, diana Ah naid, and Ani DiFranco meets Amanda Palmer / Dresden Dolls, Carole King, and Carol Bayer-Sager to a lone performer in the corner of a wintry-mountains café sharing her most intimate experiences; from “alt-folk”, country/western, full-on sultry bar-room jazz, hymns, to pop: both of her own and from the standards; and slammin’ punk / metal, she’s been compared with They Might Be Giants and Regina Spektor (and I would also venture Riki Lindhome and Kate Micucci), and that’s just on “Vanilla”, “Songs of the Month”, and “Got to Fly”!
There doesn’t seem to be anything that Marian hasn’t turned her hand to, and “Swears” and “Cusses” are just more examples of this. Two versions of the same record, “Swears” is the full-on language-warning-required maybe not-so-radio or family-friendly version, whilst “Cusses” has been pulled back, edited and/or rewritten to get onto the radio or the family stereo without toning anything else down. It’s bold, it’s kick-ass, it’s more of the slammin’ punk / metal / garage we have already experienced and, to be honest, probably what I was expecting from the beginning. The voice is unmistakable from the first few years: the timbre, the emotion; but the attitude has been dialled up to make a point. Most importantly, it’s just good fun!
Find out more about Marian Call at www.mariancall.com, www.patreon.com, the usual Face- and non-Face socials, and the various streaming services. There is a whole lot of Marian that is worth learning about, watching, and listening to, and whether you start with “Swears” or “Cusses” or at the very beginning, any way is great use of your music-loving time!