I’m not one to skip out on some blog buzz, so I’ll join Zac Bentz and JPOP Lover in taking a listen to ensemble Marsh-mallow. The group consists of five women who play a wide variety of instruments ranging from accordions to harps. The big draw seems to the group’s vocal dynamic – voices drift off in all directions, intersecting every once in a while to form a gorgeous cloud of combined singing.
“Childlike” seems to be the adjective in-vogue to describe Marsh-mallow, but don’t expect the Langley School Music Project. Not much of the group’s material seems to have found it’s way online, but of what is available (chiefly, standout number “Kaze no ko”) there is a strong sense of carefree-ness and (as Bentz nails it) playfulness. It’s not as strange as it would like you to believe (despite the armada of instruments, nothing gets out of control. And the voice meshing isn’t half as weird as, say, Julianna Barwick), but is certainly different. And mysteriously captivating.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RuWRB4xkWxA&hl=en_US&fs=1&]