Marillion Pull the Plug--Again

Marillion have a new record out, as of Oct. 5. Less Is More is the band's sixteenth effort, a studio album where songs from the last 20 years are re-examined as acoustic numbers. (All the songs date from the band's two decades with current singer Steve Hogarth. There are no Fish-era songs included.) Incidentally, 2009 marks the founding of the band (originally named Silmarillion) in 1979 by guitar player and sole original member Steve Rothery.

Turning off the amplifiers is nothing new for Marilion--the band has been releasing acoustic live albums through their website ever since the 1998 Live At the Walls and the fan-club only A Piss-Up in a Brewery recorded at the Bass Ale bottling plant. In fact, the last time this reporter saw Marillion was in 2005 when their three-man "Los Trios Marillos" tour (minus Mark Kelly and Ian Mosely) rolled through New York and played the Bowery Ballroom.

Listening to the song fragments that are included on the band's recent series of YouTube webcasts, the songs on Less Is More sound revitalized, with fresh energy and an exploration of new textures. The boldest choice on here iss the decision to re-do "Interior Lulu", a difficult track that was a fan favorite but one the band worked on for the span of two album sessions before it finally appeared on marillion.com. The band does not play this one live too often, and I hope that its presence on Less Is More may result in its return to the set.

Anyway, here's the track-list:

1. Go (marillion.com)
   
2. Interior Lulu (marillion.com)
   
3. Out of This World (Afraid of Sunlight)
   
4. Wrapped Up In Time (Happiness is the Road)
   
5. The Space (Season's End)
   
6. Hard As Love (Brave)
   
7. Quartz (Anoraknophobia)
   
8. If My Heart Were a Ball it Would Roll Uphill (Anoraknophobia)
   
9. It's Not Your Fault (new track)
   
10. Memory of Water (This Strange Engine)
    
11. This is the 21st Century (Anoraknophobia)

plus a bonus track. Yay!

The album can be ordered direct from the band. Purchasing the CD gives you a free digital download. The record will be released in our few remaining North American record shops sometime in November.

Kantoj de morto kaj akvo!