Consumer Guide Album

Marah: Kids in Philly [Artemis, 2000]
Though the press kit just barely mentions Springsteen, anyone intrigued by their reviews should be aware that these young adults from Philly flatter Bruce sincerely enough to make a grown man wince. Just as banjos and mandolins overshadow synths and samples along their E Street revisited, so old-fashioned urban-sentimentalist local color like "Reet Petite," Rocky Balboa, and watches that need winding warm their hearts, while indications that they still keep their eyes open--modern stuff like hazmats, Members Only menswear, ghettos "teeming with beats that reverberate fear"--chill their very souls. They deserve a Big Man of their own. B-