Peek A Boo - Marsheaux

Marsheaux are a band that have been around for a while and been talked about, but slipped by me in a musical sense. Hailing from Greece, which may just be a hotbed of untapped synth potential based on this and fellow group Mikro, Marsheaux comprise of girl duo Marianthi and Sophie. The band name is made up from the first syllable of each member's Christian names.

Marsheaux came to prominence in their native homeland with a rather spiffing version of old synth classic Popcorn, taken from their first album Ebay Queen. This second album should see the girls take their rightful place with the synthpop genre and hopefully take homegrown success into the international arena, with good sales and growing reputation in both the US and UK.

This album really sees the group expand on their influences with a number of rather good covers as well as their own material. When In Rome's The Promise gets a superb makeover and the girls vocals and production make this a better version in my eyes. Regret sees the last great single by New Order turned into synthpop heaven with angelic vocals and the cover of Human League's Empire State Human is sublime. Even some of the original material wears its influences on its sleeve, with Dream Of A Disco sounding like it's dying to burst into Space Age Lovesong.

It's not just about covers though or musical similarities. Marsheaux's original material is very strong (and overall heavier than the covers which are quite light) and will go down well with most synthpop fans. Whilst uptempo in nature, Marsheaux tread a fine line in style between more light fare and slightly moody. The angelic vocals sound a little more harsh on What A Lovely Surprise as opposed to the following Home for example. They also tread the line between retro and modern sounds with some ease, and none of the tracks outstay their welcome. I can't find a weak track on here, but then I think I'm in love so maybe I'm not the most unbiased.

The sound design is relatively simple. There's not loads going on, just some beats, rhythm and a touch of melody. Simple but extremely effective. Oh, and some simply gorgeous vocals.

This review originally appeared on www.synthpop.net earlier in 2008