"the devils are not in the ground / they walk among us..."
The outstretched artistry of "victor bells" from Seattle / Portland-based duo MARBLE and from their recently released album "the shadow in me" feels like a dark caveat carved in stone. There is a gothic sense and whether constructed of metaphors (or not) about the toxicity, or even worse, the outright evil among us you get the feeling that there are losses here in some epic battle. I feel art rock embellishments and post rock musicality with a hint of baroque pop. The sounds here are elegant and grand too especially the musical breaks. As progressive drumming accentuates each down beat or emotional sustain, wailing guitars as artful as space rock and as heavy as classic / alt rock hold sway. There is a lot to revel in here, a lot to unpack.
Marble is, at it's core, Matthew Blount (lead guitar) and Chantel Bailey (vocals, guitar) bringing in talented musicians to round out their compositions. Chantel's vocal countenance is downright mesmerizing with a vibrato, tremble that is thick with drama. It is as if she feels everything in real time as she is captured, recorded emoting. Perusing now and reviewing other songs on past posts I feel such a beautiful plunge into other worlds.
From songs like "The Tower" and "End of the World" and the absolutely crushing "Bleed Me Out" that feel as if they were wrought out of the romantic, harsh pages of a gothic novel and presented through dark post punkian baroque-esqe red velvet curtains other songs have other distinct sides. Songs like the eponymous "Marble", the stalking "Sleep" and the inside out bloodletting of "quiet mind" add heaviness painted with tones more akin to heavy metal and grunge even while still blending in a sort of fantasy / art rock stance.
Of the album, the duo share:
"This record was recorded in several places over the course of ~1.5 years," the duo says. "We lived in Seattle before COVID hit and we started recording with Brandon Busch, also at our friend Tom's house, and our little underground space at Crybaby Studios in Seattle. In March 2020, everything went to shit, and we couldn't even access our studio. We ended up moving to Portland and started learning about recording and production. This opened us up to start tracking in our basement while working remotely with our producer Jonah. This is when the record started taking shape."
"the shadow in me" is a stunner, a grand art piece that feels so deeply drawn that it could be adapted into something else whether an opera, a fantasy manga or a full blown movie or series. The album is available via the band's Bandcamp on vinyl, limited cassette and digital download.
-Robb Donker Curtius
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THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://www.facebook.com/marbleinseattle/
https://marbleinseattle.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/marble_band/
https://open.spotify.com/track/22zkUTsXFc2VKlcWaR8jwj
MARBLE is Matthew Blount and Chantel Bailey. While the record features a rotation of talented, local musicians, the live band has been formed post quarantine. Chantel and Matthew started playing together in Seattle in around 2016, in the band's first iteration. MARBLE are a completely independent band and have been able to make an authentic, emotional, and powerful album without the help of a label.
The album was mixed by Brandon Eggleston (Wye Oak, Modest Mouse, The Mountain Goats, Dandy Warhols, etc), produced by Jonah Cohen & MARBLE, and mastered by Ed Brooks (REM, Death Cab for Cutie, Minus the Bear, Fleet Foxes, Pearl Jam, etc). MARBLE recorded the vast majority of the single/album in their basement studio. Two of the songs were recorded by Brandon Busch at Sound Media Productions in Seattle, and Jonah Cohen contributed from his home studio as well.
** At this particular time we find ourselves in a financial pinch due to many factors. We want to keep AP going. It has been a passion project for over 13 years. PLEASE consider donating, we could really use the support. Thanks so much
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MARBLE, "victor bells", full length album, "the shadow in me", Gothic rock, alt rock, baroque pop, post punk, indie rock, heavy metal, grunge tones, dark rock, stunning art piece,
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