Those who have read Mike Marlin’s chat with Grumpyrocker, will know that Man on the Ground is the album that Mike wanted to write and for someone who never thought he was going to have that career in music which his youthful days might have lead to, is it not surprising that Man on the Ground is a reflective, thoughtful and deeply personal album.

The Magician kicks everything off and despite already having been reviewed on these pages; it is worth revisiting in the context of the album. From the ticking clock opening to the gruff yet warmly unmistakable vocals of Mike Marlin, the whole track just builds up to the chorus of “arms wide open, forever I will try, don’t leave me hanging, with my arms open wide”, it’s a plaintiff plea to buy into the mischievous nature of being deceived.

This Town received a less than glowing commentary on here when it was released as the second single from the album, yet placed in a structure of the tracks either side of it, those 80s synthed sounds, regular drum pattern and effected semi-echoey vocals works well in that melancholy ‘first side’. In fact it prepares the listener for Steve McQueen, which is achingly heartfelt expression of loss for those taken too soon. It’s an elegy fittingly accompanied by piano and violin, with the music ebbing and flowing away like a bleak memory.

For anyone who has read or seen Oliver Jeffers children’s masterpiece Lost and Found, then they will really connect with Mike Marlin’s Lost and Found. There isn’t a suggestion that Mike has used the book for inspiration, but musically as the piano picks out notes, the guitar plucks away, before the downbeat drums pushes the track onto a thumping build up, teasing in and out of exploding until the line “If you’ve never been lost, then you can’t be found” creeps through, the track is almost as heartbreaking as the film version of the book, in that overwhelming sense of what being lost actually feels like.

Hymn of Disappointment is technically the start of ‘side two’ and is fairly upbeat in its musical style, despite the contrary nature of its title. The Guitar regularly lifts into the piece, whilst Mike uses his vocal accompanied as a guide point through the track. Hymn of Disappointment is less downbeat and more reflective and gives a slight insight of what is to come.

The Girl from Chelsea Bridge is Mike Marlin’s happiest moment on Man on the Ground, it’s not comparable to those outwardly celebratory moment on Nearly Man, but when you’re describing happy memories of a time that you’ll never create again, there will always be a bitter sweetness in relaying that tale. If love could be resurrected from the past and applied now in a state of wistful happy reflection then that’s the written musical equivalent of the Girl from Chelsea Bridge.

Heart Beat fuses the piano and drum into a beat that is evocative of not only a heart beat, but an intertwined romance of instrumentation. It’s that fuzzy warmth of sharing something with someone, even when all material possessions are stripped away, until all that is left to share is a heart beat. Heart Beat is the moment you would wryly turn to Mr Marlin, look him in the eye and say ‘Mike you old romantic’!

Final track on Man on the Ground is Travel the World and for all the vocal melodies that occur elsewhere on the album it is the first time we experience a full on duet. This time Eleanor McEvoy, who until this point has provided the violin moments, joins Mike on dual vocals. Though it is those strings which weep away, whilst Mike and Eleanor reflect on not needing to travel the world to find that perfect half and that’s an appropriate way on which Man on the Ground ends.

So what has Man on the Ground delivered? A first half of melancholy and loss; none more so than Steve McQueen, to a second half of wistful reflectiveness; with the joyous moments such as Girl from Chelsea Bridge and the sorrowful sounding yet positive reflection of Travel the World. Mike Marlin talked about Man on the Ground of being the album he always wanted to make and at times it is an achingly open insight into the soul of Mike Marlin. It is unabashed in its intensity, ironically marks a grown up Mike Marlin sound in comparison to Nearly Man and despite 2012 only being two months old, marks an impressive statement which musically it maybe difficult to top.

Reviewed by Jimbo Walsh.

Mike Marlin's second album Man on the Ground is available from Mike's website on CD, 300 limited edition copies on 12" vinyl, with a dedication from Mike himself if you so wish.