Thomas J Marchant - Lifeboat

Hear The Track Here

Don't know about the rest of you guys but I am getting very tired of pea brained spammers cluttering up the works in just about every forum worth a light on Soundclick, which is probably why it appears to die the occasional death. It's either that who someone whining that they don't know how to 'get hits' on Soundclick and elsewhere. The obvious answer to pea brained spammers is a short rope and a long drop but what to do about 'what do I do?' After all, it's something we've all uttered in our time, its probably a bit harsh to lynch them for it. Spammers have it coming, after all. Well, I'd say a classic way to find out is do some research on well known (but unsigned, of course) artists you like, and you'd be surprised at their stories. Ultimately though the same word applies to making good music and to then promoting said music. The word is persistence. Take Thomas J, as a really good example of what to do. He started off in one genre, moved to another that suited him better, and hasn't looked back since. Like any one of us though, scratch a little deeper and you'll see that Thomas got there the hard way, under a lot of flak from the critical peanut gallery.

None of which phased him in the slightest, and that's the real test of longevity.

My first encounter with him was Frown there, Smile here (February 2004) going under the bandname Station For Imitation and the distance travelled in that time has been nothing less than startling. While it's true that he hasn't racked up a Must Have since It's A Hard Life (That We Are Living) (April 2010), even his lesser tracks are miles above any competition. The main reason being that, quite simply, absolutely no-one else sounds like this, and for sure no one else writes songs like this guy. His brand of modern/retro lo-fi is particularly appealing to me because Thomas's inspiration of late seems to have come from the late 1950's to early 1960's which obviously would appeal to the many baby boomers around.

As many of you know I am a big, big fan of all things reggae, and Lifeboat has some of the very elements that make reggae so listenable - at least for me. Oi!! Gilmore!!, you shout loudly, how can that possibly be? Thomas is a white English geezer, full of Elvis and Bob Dylan. Well, yes, that's is true and Bob Dylan is certainly one of the inspirations here. The main one is the rhythm though, and it's this that gives me the reggae connection. See, I've seen some of the greats of the genre playing a simple reggae riff on an old beat up guitar, singing or talking along and it is fekkin incredible. This is the quality that Thomas has draped around this track. It does lose that appeal as the track goes on and more and more gets added, but damn it draws you in and I guess that's enough. As I say, I consider Thomas to be one of the finer talents on Soundclick and about as unique as they come.

Highly Recommended blend of styles. MUST HAVE for TJM fans.