The past two decades have seen a vast amount of synthpop, coldwave, and adjacent artists emerge, and for a time it seemed like the indie scene was overflowing with different takes on the genres. Chris Stewart formed Black Marble in 2012, and his early work under this name followed explored a noticeably lo-fi take on synthpop, coldwave, and post punk. Over the past fourteen years Stewart’s music has gone through a similar trajectory as some of the others in the genre, moving from those lo-fi roots towards much fuller production and bringing in additional influences to transform the sound. By the time Black Marble joined Sacred Bones Records in 2019 the approach had evolved significantly, and those shifts continued on 2021’s Fast Idol. Five years after that album, Stewart returns with Life in Small Spaces which is an even bigger transformation, peeling back some of the synth layers in favor of jangly guitars and even more pop sensibilities while keeping that familiar electronic foundation.
Opener “It Always Comes to Me” makes it apparent how big of a role the guitars are going to play on the album, and while that’s not a new instrument in Black Marble’s arsenal it hasn’t been the focal point on previous material like it is here. There’s a warmer, jangly tone to the guitar work on this song that comes through like the surf rock meets post punk rhythms of early Beach Fossils and this immediately gives Life in Small Spaces a different feel than some of Stewart’s past discography. But “Jim Carol New Year” heads back towards the moodier synths and danceable rhythms that have defined Black Marble’s discography, and the production continues Fast Idol’s embrace of a more spacious and airier sound that allows each element to breathe. As you make your way through the rest of the album, Stewart does a good job of alternating between guitar and synth forward tracks, finding a sweet spot between indie pop, synth pop, and post punk. Some of the synth driven tracks remind me more of The Cars circa Heartbeat City this time around, but you also have bouncier guitar driven songs like “Panopticon Calls” that feel like they’re capturing the essence of what a lot if indie rock was exploring around the time Black Marble was formed. While there are still moodier tracks that have that familiar coldwave slant to them, there are a considerable amount of bright spots on Life in Small Spaces that lean into classic 80s pop hooks. Admittedly things do fall into some patterns and a few of the up-tempo tracks blend together for me, but the high points make up for it.
Stewart’s singing has gotten more prominent and felt more confident in recent years, and Life in Small Spaces comes across like a natural progression from Fast Idol. His voice is a bit lower than you might expect from some of the jangle pop and bouncier sounds coming from the instrumentals, keeping things rooted in the post punk and synthpop side of the spectrum. But early songs like “Jim Carol New Year” do head into some higher and airier ranges that show Stewart has a bit more variation to his performance compared to some of the more deadpan and repetitive approaches that can be common in these genres. Songs like “Get Back Up” feel more like pop anthems with bigger, echo heavy singing to support it, while “Other Man’s Dream” has a more reflective and almost bedroom recording energy to it. There’s a lot more to the performance and lyrical content than is immediately apparent, making Life in Small Spaces that has early hooks but more to discover beneath the surface.
On its latest album Black Marble pushes further outwards, bringing in more of the guitar side of indie pop and post punk without losing the moodier synths and big, booming hooks. The transitions between these two sides work well, and there are equal amounts of the jangly melodies and colder synth lines that have stood out over repeat listens. It does fall into some patterns that dull the impact of a few of the songs, but it’s exciting to hear Stewart blend even more styles into his music. Life in Small Spaces is available from Sacred Bones Records.
-Review by Chris Dahlberg