--Brandon Howard
----Released 10 April 2020
Marine Todd began as a collaboration between longtime friends Nick Rossi and Brad. In the true spirit of DIY, it was written and recorded together in their shared rehearsal space. I find it reminiscent of newer works by IDLES, while the band say they are inspired by Fugazi, Black Flag, Jesus Lizard, and the Melvins. The drummer, Nick Rossi, is also inspired by funk and soul artists like Rick James and Funkadelic, which makes for a very interesting blend in context.
Nick working in the studio.
The compositions began from percussion, which gives the album a rich rhythmic drive. This also allowed the writing sessions to start from a very organic place. Concerning the album's initial formation,
Nick Rossi writes: "I had the idea of writing a song from the drums up, which isn’t something I’d ever done before. So, he’d show up around 7-8pm, we’d set up mics and everything, have some drinks, and then I’d have him hit record and I’d just play drums until something felt good. This new approach allowed the grooves to take the forefront, which allows a more natural immersion, then just focusing on a primary melodic vehicle. It also acts as a sort of foundation for the aggressive, chaotic and colorful vocals, not unlike Jackson Pollack on a canvas. It’s a potent blend that captures the intent with accuracy, which in combination with its production choices easily invokes the in-your-face and head banging aesthetic we yearn for from a percussion driven punk record."
A photo of uh...well an artist's rendition of, Marine Todd
The end result of their work is a meticulously crafted piece from a duo with a shared vision, yet done quickly with great efficiency from their core understanding of their goal. Nick writes,
"Once I had a couple drum parts laid down, I’d try to arrange them into some kind of coherent framework, and from there we’d build the song off of that. I’d come up with guitar parts, lay them down. Brad would then sit in front of the console and hit stop and play over and over and over again and work out his vocal parts and lyrics. After he left for the night, I’d lay down bass. Altogether, writing and tracking, would be about a 6-8 hour process, and it was by far the most fun I’d ever had making a record."
Stream and purchase the album via BandCamp here, stream via Spotify here, and listen to “Wha Happen?” below:
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