Marcus Foster - Tumble Down

Marcus Foster has a style purpose-built for Radio 2. Emerging as the latest beneficiary of the steadily increasing success of the Communion stable, this four-track EP takes a little of what has made the likes of Marling, Flynn and the Mumfords quite so successful (a focus on poetic lyrics, an “interesting” voice) and throws in some pretty obvious pointers for those after something a little more rooted in past decades’ trendier, and quieter, musical styles.

Take ‘Demons’ for instance - a track characterised by Foster’s yearning howl (that never quite manages to distance itself enough from that other Marcus’ to feel comfortable) as much as it is by the piano and string-strewn backing ripped straight out of the late ‘80s balladeers songbook. This is music in half measures – enough alternative style to appeal to the “nu-folk” generation, enough recognisable generic charm to become actually marketable. Only opener ‘Shadows of the City’ goes any way towards combating this immediate assumption but its promising opening section, all ringing guitars in silence and sinister, choral “ooh”s is quickly swallowed by a monotonous gallop of a chorus that extinguishes any real musical interest as quickly as it appears.

This isn’t to say that ‘Tumble Down’ is actively offensive in any way, it’s perfectly listenable, but its appeal lies only in its hummable lure – which is just why it will do so well on Radio 2.