The first thing one must consider when listening to Genus Thylacinus by MarsupiaL (with a capital L), is that this is a bona fide jam band. Out of Asheville, NC, MarsupiaL’s sound mixes progressive rock with southern rock and a taste of jazz. What results is a very winding and mellow type of music, like the rock equivalent of a babbling brook. This quartet’s sound is just plain laid-back and unobtrusive. They’re not flashy, but that doesn’t mean there’s not talent here. Quite the contrary, there is a strongly prevalent degree of musicianship at work that is sometimes hard to find in a band, even with several releases under their belts (let’s face it: some bands just aren’t that good at what they do).

The eight song album goes by relatively fast, even when all but two of the songs clock in at over four minutes. Track one is just shy of nine minutes, while track three comes close to ten minutes, which goes to show that the band likes to meander about in the songs that they play. I actually thought that track one, “Lead On,” was two different songs until it reprised into its chorus at the end.

This is an album perfect for sitting around with friends on a summer night while kicking back a few beers. I’m not saying that it’s only good as background music, but it’s just very “chill,” so to speak. It has a sort of Frank Zappa-ish vibe to it, and feels very much like one of the classic rock jam bands of years gone by. This kind of music simply isn’t seen as much any more, and that’s a shame, because these guys have a lot of talent.

While this isn’t something I would play religiously, I would definitely recommend this to anyone who likes a good jam band. The first track, “Lead On,” is especially fun, with some great guitar solos. The southern rock feel of “The Man Who Knows Things” makes it stand out well from the rest of the album. I definitely wouldn’t mind listening to some more MarsupiaL.

Welcome to the 31st Year of the Bele Chere Festival!

“The Bele Chere Festival is an annual 3-day festival on the streets of historic Downtown Asheville. The festival features four stages of free- live music and an impressive array of arts and crafts; as well as entertainment and activities for children. Surrounded by the natural beauty of the mountains of Western North Carolina- come join us for one of the Southeast’s largest free outdoor street festivals.

Italian to English Translation provided by Google

The purposes of description can also be useful to find “labels” in order to understand what kind of music a group is proposing, but ultimately you are exaggerating and speaking of prog rock, or “eclectic”, as happens often in recent years, almost verging on the ridiculous. The fact is simply that there are quite a few artists around who can make a proposal full of music or contamination of a wide variety of influences, so that identifying a specific genre… is totally impossible. Take the case of MarsupiaL. This is a U.S. band of North Carolina, founded in 2000 and composed by Ian Reardon on guitar and vocals, Forrest Smith on guitar, Brad Mehder on bass and Chris Carter on drums and voice. Yes, keyboards, nothing … But, I hope that you readers have already understood that there is no need to use keyboards to be included [as] progressive rock. In fact, prog is only one element that we can find in “Genus thylacinus”, [an] album that shows the capabilities of what [MarsupiaL] brings: energetic rock, long instrumental passages worthy of the best jam bands, intriguing vocal melodies sometimes elegantly modern at times closer to the American tradition, without disdaining incursions into progressive and jazz-rock.

Imagine … Pink Floyd, Phish, Allman Brothers Band, Dire Straits and Radiohead, alternating instrumental oneiric situations and mysterious, fluid electric guitar solos that gives vibrance, and that cross and give the change to drive songs, sung moments direct and catchy, long instrumental moments dictated by the ability of musicians improvising, melodic insights of immediate impact and even leaps of a certain aggressiveness … Imagine all this and you have an idea more or less vague proposal of MarsupiaL. Of course, if your world is made of mellotron solo, symphonic prog, new-prog, fairies and gnomes, I do not think this product might interest you. But if you like those groups able to rotate 360 degrees and always with convincing results, this disc will be a delightful discovery.

by Peppe Di Spirito

This is a bit of an odd cove. Seemingly teetering between the worlds of prog rock, jazz fusion and jam bands, North Carolinas Marsupial can never be accused of easy listening.

They’ve been on the go since 2000 and have released three albums prior to this one - “Dancing About Architecture”, “Moby [Fleck]” and “Curtains”. They hit you hard right from the off, with the eight minute plus ‘Lead On’, um, leading you through an abundance of styles and moods.

However, there are some simpler songs on offer as well, and it’s tunes like ‘The Man Who Knows Things’ and ‘In Between’, which could suck in a wider audience, especially the latter with its countryish vibe.

It’s definitely the jamband fraternity who will respond most favourably to the range of music on offer, with fans of String Cheese Incident and Umphrey’s McGee unlikely to feel lost at a Marsupial show.

An album that rewards repeated plays, I did find myself skipping over ‘Sucker Punch’, but with only 10% of the record lost to me, that’s a mighty fine return.

Sound Track Potential playlist

by Alli Marshall in Vol. 15 / Iss. 50 on 07/08/2009

Genus Thylacinus by MarsupiaL

The eight-song collection, released this year by perennial Asheville rock band MarsupiaL veers wildly from the bouncy, pedal steel-infused, Grateful Dead-esque “In Between” to the thrashing guitars, crashing percussion and general hardcore mayhem of “Sucker Punch.” The easy answer to the schizophrenic feel of Genus Thylacinus is that the band’s four members take turns writing the songs Still, even the compositions of individual musicians are disparate: Drummer/guitarist Chris Carter wrote both the groovy-if-melancholic opener, “Lead On,” as well as the fuzzy, churning “Naked in the Hall of Seduction.” Guitarist Ian Reardon composed jazz-jam “The Tide,” which bubbles through tasteful cymbal rolls and reverb. His slower “The Man Who Knows Things” pairs Allman Brothers flavor with modern percussion. The disc’s final track, “There Is A Better World,” is perhaps its most gentle. Vocal harmonies and Smith’s excellent pedal steel earn the lush (if heartbreaking) song single status.