5 out of 5

Label: Friction Records

Produced by: Dave Sardy, Enon

Oh man, I am such a sucker for this era of Enon.

Marbles Explode may as well have been a Believo! track: the melody cants downwards and weird, not the peppier pop of High Society and onward, and it’s just got that junky funk vibe ported over from Skeleton Key. Steve Calhoun is drumming; Sardy is producing. It’s delightful.

And an equal spotlight on B-side Raisin Heart, which is a Toko-led track, working in more of the distorted and fuzzy vein of classic Enon; this could also have been a Believo! track, vibing with something like Cruel, but more in line with Toko’s more haunting croon. The hiss of the music hides ambience that adds to the creepin’ and crawlin’ nature of the tune. This was so promising, showing how the band’s roster and sound could expand while staying within the original Enon realm.

I mean, I dug High Society, but… yeah. Clearly I’ve never been able to let go of my adoration of Believo!.

This is exactly what I want from singles: non-album stuff, providing different, but complementary styles of a band, and tracks that are independently worthwhile to listen to. You know, a reason to listen to the single, including fun interior liner notes (an excerpt from… some random history book?), adding to bragging rights of physical ownership.