Thee Marloes – ‘Di Hotel Malibu’ album review: An enchanting summer breeze of Indonesian soul
Soul music is capable of connecting all walks of humanity, a fact contained within the very origins of the genre, uniting communities in American concrete jungles like Detroit, New York and Chicago. In the modern age, that same spirit is carried forward by groups like Thee Marloes, hailing from Surabaya, Indonesia.
The Skinny: There is a shameful tendency within Westernised music journalism to view groups from faraway lands like Indonesia with a certain novelty, owing perhaps to the heavily Anglicised nature of mainstream music in the UK. To brand Thee Marloes with that same novelty, however, would be to ignore the fact – and it is a fact – that they are among the greatest soul-centric groups in the world at present. Their debut album, Perak, already gave audiences a lush, romantic introduction to that sound, but Di Hotel Malibu blows it wide open.
Arriving via Big Crown Records, increasingly an infallible source of incredible funk and soul rhythms from around the globe, Thee Marloes’ LP lures you into their plush, comforting realm immediately upon dropping the needle into the groove. With the opening track ‘Under The Silver Moon’, the group offer a beautifully skilled introduction to their unique brand of psychedelic-tinged neo-soul, which, in spite of that opener’s title, seems to exude a summer breeze from its very airwaves.
While on one hand, Di Hotel Malibu feels like the natural progression from the band’s inaugural studio album, evoking a similar sense of laid-back deep soul romanticism, those who have been following Big Crown’s singles discography will be able to recognise just how much Thee Marloes have developed in the two-year gap between those two records.
Without wishing to disparage that first record, which still sounds as revelatory as it did back in 2024, Di Hotel Malibu feels considerably more polished and comfortable in its own skin; a feeling that complements its musical content perfectly.
Given the album’s psychedelic influences, there is always a risk that the band will lean too heavily into that mind-bending musical realm, but Thee Marloes pull off the psych-soul balancing act with expected grace.
Lyrically, in particular, the band keeps things relatively simple, and that helps the tracklisting to evoke its deeply emotive universality, with the added help of Natassya Sianturi’s pulchritudinous vocals, of course.
Standout Track: ‘I’m Just A Girl’
The Verdict: Rather than falling at the much-feared hurdle of the tricky second album, Thee Marloes have reaffirmed their position on the upper echelon of modern soul, with the sun-soaked psych-soul rhythms of Di Hotel Malibu evoking a strong sense that the Indonesian band are well within their stride, and still at the beginning of what promises to be a commanding discography.
Release Date: May 22nd, 2026 | Producer: Sinatrya Dharaka | Label: Big Crown Records
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