111 songs. 4 volumes. 5 hours.
Welcome to the world of Quiet Marauder. Where some see boundaries or confines, Quiet Marauder see an idea worth pursuing. Over the course of its four volumes, five hours and 111 songs, MEN charts the path of the male identity through love, rejection, murderous fantasy, discontent, crisis, intoxication, perversion and, ultimately, resolution.
Powered by the dual songwriting engine room of Simon M. Read and Jonathan Day, Quiet Marauder are a loose collective of musicians all contributing flourishes of cornet, melodica, guitar, piano and kitchen utensil percussion. For the purposes of MEN, however, 26 artists from as far afield as Austria to as near as their hometown of Cardiff were recruited. These include the likes of The School, Winter Villains, Little Arrow, Bensh, John Mouse, Hail! The Planes, Ivan Moult, Laurence Made Me Cry, Spencer McGarry, Rory & Ned, Totem Terrors, Houdini Dax, Jemma Roper, My Name Is Ian, Francesca's Word Salad, The Lovely Wars and many, many more.
The end result is an anti-folk, pop odyssey that can either be dipped into or out of, or swallowed in one long ingestion (with breaks, naturally). Conjuring ghostly recollections of The Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Syd Barrett, The Magnetic Fields and The Fugs,MEN is one of the most unique releases to have emerged from Wales or, indeed, the United Kingdom in some time.
"Welsh music tends to produce mavericks, eccentrics...oddballs. Think Gruff Rhys, for instance, or reaching further back the frenzied adventures of Datblygu. Well, now we can add Welsh group Quiet Marauder to that list." Clash Magazine
"Like nothing you've ever heard before" The 405
"MEN is a treasure trove of odd little songs, and having it on your iPod ensures that a smile is never far away" The Album Wall - 8/10 - #1 Album Of 2013
"Entirely unique in both style and grace" Cat On The Wall
"It's not just the size of MEN you should be impressed with: Quiet Marauder know what to do with it" Buzz Magazine
Released on Bubblewrap Records on January 27th 2014 in the UK, MEN will be available for download from all good retailers and a bespoke limited edition run from the online Bubblewrap Store.
For a Making Of Men 'documentary' click here
For lead single I Want A Moustache, Dammit's music video, click here
For more information on Quiet Marauder, please contact quietmarauder@gmail.com