BRAVE

I am/was a huge fan of Fish-era Marillion and Brave was the first post-Fish Marillian purchase I made shortly after its release. Although I quite enjoy a lot of Hogarth-era Marillion, despite some twenty years of trying I've never managed to get into this album. For me 'Runaway' is the stand-out track, with the brooding Rothery guitar motif capturing the melancholy desperation of the album's central character coupled with the best Hogarth vocal/lyric of the album. Other songs have their moments, but on the whole this is an album that fails to grip. The album has a kind of 'play for today' feel as cliches about troubled kids are trotted out one by one. Check out Bowie's 'Because You're Young' for how these themes can be tackled with real depth and nuance.