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Mardo
- Mardo
By Kevin Wierzbicki
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Mardo
- Mardo
Label: House
of Restitution
Release Date:
2/8/05
Rating: 
Go ahead and lay down your ear-bones. Just
surrender them and let them rock. You are now in Mardo territory, a land
governed by Flying V guitars. Listen for their call then heed the wise
words that follow.
Mardo is an L.A. based trio consisting
of brothers Aron and Robert “Robbie” Mardo with guitarist/vocalist Rob
Small. Small was recruited after the brothers had finished their self-titled
debut, so although he is pictured on the disc, he does not play on it.
Aron is the main singer and also holds down the bass and keyboard chores
while Robbie plays guitar and drums. “Anyone But Me,” Mardo’s opening salvo,
has Robbie drumming a steady march while his (multi-tracked) guitar foot
soldiers spray everything in sight with laser-tight riffage; Aron snarls
condescendingly, “Well, you think you don’t need meeee!” Forget locking
up the women. They will answer this siren song.
Like their lean, rock-stud bodies, there’s
no filler on Mardo. The boys got their musical education at home, learning
to play by ear while ingesting a steady diet of classic and eclectic rock
from their parent’s collection. (May the cosmos forever bless you Mr. and
Mrs. M!) “Cold Creepin’” borrows shamelessly from Golden Earring and you’ll
recognize a little “My Woman from Tokyo” in “Big Mouth Shotgun,” where
Deep Purple meets Guns’n’Roses. “Last Call” is pure power-pop that recalls
Cheap Trick and reflects the brothers’ penchant for well written songs
that shines throughout. The only song here not written by Aron and Robbie
is “I Want a New Drug,” the Huey Lewis chestnut. The seemingly unlikely
choice of covers rocks hard thanks to a stuttering arrangement of swooping
guitars, fuzzy vocals and a funky sax break from Les Pierce, Mardo’s producer.
These guys may not be the saviors of rock’n’roll,
but man, it feels good!
CD Info and Links
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