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Marlon Williams: Tiny Desk Concert

By Bob Boilen
Published February 12, 2018 at 5:00 AM EST

Marlon Williams is a handsome devil with a heart-stopping voice, who writes songs about vampires and horror films. This 27-year old, New Zealand-born, Melbourne-based singer is also a teller of tales.

Marlon Williams is in love with a good, traditional blues or country tune and that's just how he opens this Tiny Desk Concert, with a song called "When I Was A Young Girl" (also known traditionally as "One Morning In May" or "The Bad Girl's Lament"). The best-known version of it was probably by Nina Simone until Feist tackled the tune. But Marlon Williams' rendition is more stunning than any version I've heard and seems to conjure the spirit of Roy Orbison with its long, deep-throated incantations. The purity of Marlon Williams' voice is rare and entrancing.

After that first tune, performed solo with just his acoustic guitar, he strapped on his electric guitar, brought out his band, snapped his fingers to set the beat and sang about being stoned and running around Los Angeles dressed as a vampire. At the time of our taping, back in October of last year, "Vampire Again" was the newest song since Marlon Williams' 2016, self-titled release.

After finishing that tune and losing his guitar pick, he found one left behind by Wilco and launched into a tune we'd not heard before. He calls "What's Chasing You" a song about horror films, but it sounds like a 1950s tune about unrequited love.

The brilliant session ends as the band gathered around a single microphone for another new tune called "Make Way For Love." We now know it's the title track to Marlon Williams' forthcoming album and it reveals an intimacy at the heart of what makes him such a magnetic artist.

Set List

  • "When I Was a Young Girl"

  • "Vampire Again"

  • "What's Chasing You"

  • "Make Way For Love"

    • Musicians

    Marlon Williams (vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboard); David Khan (vocals, electric guitar); Benjamin Woolley (vocals, bass); Angus Agars (vocals, drums)

    Credits

    Producers: Bob Boilen, Bronson Arcuri; Creative Director: Bob Boilen; Audio Engineer: Josh Rogosin; Videographers: Bronson Arcuri, Morgan Noelle Smith, Tsering Bista, CJ Riculan; Production Assistant: Lee Mengitsu; Photo: Liam James Doyle/NPR.

    For more Tiny Desk concerts, subscribe to our podcast.

    Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

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    Bob Boilen
    In 1988, a determined Bob Boilen started showing up on NPR's doorstep every day, looking for a way to contribute his skills in music and broadcasting to the network. His persistence paid off, and within a few weeks he was hired, on a temporary basis, to work for All Things Considered. Less than a year later, Boilen was directing the show and continued to do so for the next 18 years.
    See stories by Bob Boilen

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