Earlier this year Marvelous 3 announced they were getting the band back together after their album Hey! Album hit the 25 year mark! And if you personally know me, you know I have followed Marvelous 3 since before they were alt rock darlings. My fandom for the three fellas of Marvelous 3, Jayce Fincher, Mitch “Slug” McLee, and Butch Walker started when they were in the underrated metal band SouthGang who I would follow to Floyds Funk Revival and then to The Floyds until they became the entity of Marvelous 3.
When the band announced they were doing a handful of tour dates in the States, messages from home poured in – it’s time to come home for a visit. Unfortunately, a flight from Australia to the US is pricier than what my wallet can currently afford so I will not be making the journey to see the band, but I have no doubt as many times as I saw them in the late 90’s and 00’s that the trio will no doubt rock.
I mean, after all, they did come up with the tag, 2MR41H (too much rock for one hand).
Marvelous 3 has officially announced that their fourth album, appropriately named IV, will be out on Oct 13th and with that news the released the first single, “If We’re On Fire (Let it Burn)” and if I’m honest, there was not one chance in hell that I, like many other M3 fans were not going to go gaga over the song.
So before I hit play on “If We’re On Fire (Let it Burn)”, I traipsed back through the Marevlous 3 catalogue and listened album by album. I had not revisited most of the albums in a long while, though I do have a tendency to play “Sugarbuzz” anytime I need a hype song, I wondered if I could easily be transported back in time?
The answer was a definitive yes.
Marvelous 3 always had something about them. The it factor if you will and it shined on their debut album Math and Other Problems, sparkled on Hey! Album, and utterly obliterated the stars on ReadySexGo.
And “If We’re On Fire (Let it Burn)” shows that the gents have not lost that sparkle and shine or “the it” at all. If anything, they have harnessed the power that was the supernova they were and have an even bigger it factor.
There may have been years that have passed between the trio since they have written and played together, but “If We’re On Fire (Let it Burn)” feels and sounds like there was no problem with the three of them easily finding their groove.
Perhaps they too were easily transported back in time when they regrouped.
From the vocals, the harmonies, and the musicianship, Marvelous 3 have not aged. “If We’re On Fire (Let it Burn)” is fresh, bright, and fun, filled with a wonderful infectious bass, thundering drums, dazzling guitars, catchy melodies, and sing-a-long anthem-esque lyrics.
“If We’re On Fire (Let it Burn)” proves that Marvelous 3 still have it.
With IV around the corner, I have no doubt it will continue the Marvelous 3 train of great, infectious, and fun songs.
After all these years, there’s still magic about Marvelous 3 and they’ve yet again proven as they always have that they are 2MR41H.
