Rating: NNNN
Crank up the volume on your favourite album, then cram big, fluffy pillows in front of your stereo speakers and the sound quality you hear will likely exceed that of the aptly titled Static/Crash from Whitby’s the Mark Inside. I’m a fan of a lot of so-called “lo-fi” bands, but this album makes the Silver Jews sound like Pink Floyd. Thankfully, the dirty-blues-based rock tunes here are so inspired and filled with such energy that after a few spins you don’t really care that it sounds like it was recorded on a Fisher-Price tape deck. Kinda like Flat Duo Jets and the great Deadly Snakes in spirit, the Mark Inside nail it on almost every track, even showing a softer side with songs like the self-explanatory Screaming Drowning Haunting. The Mark Inside play York University’s Underground Monday (January 31).
