Album Review: O Happy Marriage - M Iafrate & the Priesthood

O Happy Marriage
M Iafrate & the Priesthood
2005 / factory r

M Iafrate and the Priesthood’s O Happy Marriage may stand the test of time as one of the best local releases to come out of this town as long as I've been around. While many ply their trade in hip-ness and panache, Iafrate quietly weaves complex themes throughout twelve tracks which are both soothing and, at times, perplexing. Throughout the record Iafrate ponders sex, death, and god in a manner that imparts a sense of their interconnectedness to the listener, without forcing ideology onto them. A hypnotizing record which deftly shifts gears from the melancholy to the jovial, O Happy Marriage slips from quiet folk to country rock and back again without ever missing a beat.

O Happy Marriage opens softly with “Under Heaven/Over Hell” and instantly establishes religion as a major theme on the record, but one that is delivered gently without any pretense of answering life’s hard questions. “Marantha (a Prayer for the Kakistocracy)”, possibly the album’s strongest track, points out that, “we’re building churches to people not gods, like a temple created for fun, we’re building churches: churches to dogs”. It’s a point that is hammered home for the listener and one that doesn’t miss the mark. Whether it be the finger picking of “Monsignor New Dealer” or the full band assault of “Song of Songs” the record provides moments of beautiful instrumentation that provide a springboard for Iafrate’s haunting vocals.

Though some of the topics are heavy, the music is not. “9 or 10 a Night” contains some of the darkest material on the album, but also delivers one of the catchiest choruses as well. “Heyday Babe” provides the album’s most accessible moment, a country rock sing a long with minimalist lyrics. O Happy Marriage even closes with a Foreigner cover. Yes, that Foreigner. Except that while the original “What Love Is” may have been delivered with all the cliché cheese of early eighties pop radio, Iafrate and company turn the tables on the original. Slowed down and delivered with feeling over a mid tempo country rock backing, it actually stands out as one of the album’s high points. It just goes to show what you can do if you strip away a lot of the trappings and focus on the emotions conveyed.

O Happy Marriage is a hypnotic testament to the complexity of life, love and religion, but even more so, it’s a testament to what a little well crafted songwriting can do.

O Happy Marriage is available online or locally at the Den. (But wouldn’t it be a better idea to ask for it at Generic Chain Records at the mall, and then throw a fit when they don’t have it, demand that they support local music, and then just buy it at the Den anyway?)