The Mariner’s Children at The Lexington

If the idea of an alternative, acoustic-led folk-rock act fills you with excitement rather than dread, you’d do well to check out The Mariner’s Children. Their music is less flamboyant than Arcade Fire, but more ambitious than Mumford & Sons.

The similarities don’t stop there: The Mariner’s Children have seven band members who play a variety of instruments, including: violin, accordion, banjo and cello. To the credit of the songwriting everything is kept in check with great poise, avoiding what could be an aural mess. The venue’s technician did an excellent job keeping what must be a challenging sound to work with, clear and audible.

The set begins with up-beat It Carved Your Name Into The Ground, found on debut EP Sycamore. It is driving, dynamic and catchy, summing up their sound as a whole: stabs of guitar and quick snare beats reel you in before a mid-way pause for dueling vocals, before building up to an all-encompassing crescendo.

Title track Sycamore showcases the band’s louder edge; in a live environment the band’s best moments are unarguably when they are in full-tilt, swinging-country rock mode. Their quieter moments are as engaging: Bridges starts as a delicate, chromatically ascending riff, slowly morphing into, and climaxing in, an irresistible swirl of strings.

As the set nears its end, lead vocalist Benedict Rubinstein states that an album is due for release in the autumn. Comparisons to other folk bands will undoubtedly be made, but The Mariner’s Children deserve to be appreciated on their own merits. The buzz surrounding them testifies to this.

 Verdict: ••••

 Tom Yates

Photos: Luna Ingrassia

 For further information about The Mariner’s Children and future events visit here.

 Watch the video for It Carved Your Name Into The Ground here.