aaamusic | On 24, Mar 2011

Once in a while an EP lands in your inbox which takes your breath away and all you want to do is write about it; ‘Tumble Down’ the debut from Marcus Foster is one of those rare gems that did just that. It takes a lot to enthuse a writer; we receive so much dross that sometimes the good stuff just gets lost in with the bubble-gum that’s only interested in a perfect rhyme scheme. However, ‘Tumble Down’ just leaps out of the speakers and envelops the listener into the atmospheric world that Foster has created.

One of the things I like about ‘Tumble Down’ is that it is involved in narrative story telling but in an incredibly poetic way. Lyrically speaking, it is excellent. However, the vocal performance is the real stand out here; emotive, tonally perfect and incredibly authentic, Foster delivers the sort of quality that sounds like he has been doing this for years and the sound here is never of someone at the tender age of 24.

All this is without even touching on the songs which are the work of a highly accomplished songwriter, managing to combine genres effortlessly so that the end result is a wonderful amalgamation of influences. There is a gospel quality at work here which gives each track incredibly powerful presence and not even a second of a track is non-essential. Even title track ‘Tumble Down,’ which is an altogether softer affair, has an intensely hypnotic quality in spite of the sheer intimacy of the piece as a whole.

A must for any collection, the EP is out on April 4^th followed by a full length later this year and on the basis of “Tumble Down” it will be one that you would be foolish to miss.

Author: Josie Payne

Pre order on iTunes or Rough Trade