Ever since alt-country jumped on the musical landscape, the genre has failed to find a breakthrough band a la grunge's Nirvana. Marah could change that with their impressive second release, "Kids in Philly," yet another interesting amalgam from the Bielanko brothers. David Bielanko sings with a gruffness that adds depth to the band's impressive songcraft, which conjures the feel of good classic rock, storytelling folk, along with touches of Philly soul and hip-hop rhythms.
The Bielankos obviously took their love of FM-radio's past and brought it up to the sounds of today. But in the end, Marah rocks. In the liner notes, they give thanks to those people "to whom rock & roll still matters." We should be thanking them.
