Hailing from Leeds, Marsicans have developed a penchant for ‘combining their upbeat indie music with dirty pop.’ Following EP releases Chivalry in 2014 and Absence in 2016, August marks the release of the band’s first full length album, titled Ursa Major. The release is a near 50 minute explosion of raw emotion and assertiveness, unlike anything we have heard from them before.
In an interview with One Great Zine, vocalist James Newbigging discussed how the band could have written and produced an album before 2020. Despite their eagerness, their music tastes and lives have changed, thus influencing their new music:
‘It’s kind of about overthinking and just kind of worrying about everything that you can’t control. I think a lot of people go through that, that early-twenties kind of confusion, just feeling a bit lost.’
The primary track Introduction is reminiscent of a televised dream sequence, sounding oddly eerie and initially off-putting. It provides a similar feeling to watching television when it has been left on static, or when you can feel the hairs stand up on the back of your neck. The leap into Juliet is undoubtedly smooth and surprising, featuring perfectly disjointed patterns of vocals – suggestive of previous popular tracks like Too Good and Throw Ourselves In. The lyrics reflect an individual’s perceptions and views, whilst on a Juliet balcony, with cliffhanger hooks ‘tomorrow I’ll figure it out…’ effectively encapsulating audiences to listen on to the rest of the record.
Julia delves deeper into themes of looking into the future, expressed in ‘I’m overthinking this’ and references to ‘tomorrow.’ The dramatic and darker guitar riffs used in the bridge, alongside accompanied and harmonic vocals, result in an extremely complimentary, almost dissonant tone. It is clear that Marsicans are very capable of expressing themselves, not just through written lyrics, but their production and amalgamation of sound. The distorted guitars at the end of the track sound similar to the indie-pop band Hippo Campus, with an added edgier air of confidence.
These Days contains lyrics that are particularly pertinent to people living in 2020: encapsulating the feeling of not wanting to leave the house, ever. The main chorus of ‘I don’t want to go outside, most of the time’ sounds similar to early 2010s releases from bands like All Time Low, certainly anthemic to hear at a live show. The more simplistic and shorter lines are extremely pleasing, and definitely something of an ear-worm. Marsicans’ lyrics have progressed from being quirky, to being very down to Earth in this time of release. These Days is 100 percent a song that will be popular with live audiences, as a result of the cheery instrumental accompaniment to such relatable and serious lyrics.
The album artwork for Ursa Major was designed by Liv Hodder, who has worked on many of Marsicans’ past projects. On Facebook, the band discussed how they wanted to give shout-outs to members of their team, who have made it possible to create Ursa Major:
‘Liv plays with shapes and colour in a way which never fails to amaze us; time after time, she represents our music in a way which we’d never envisaged before. To represent our leap from singles to an album, we thought it would be cool to make a similarly ambitious jump in the artwork from 2D paper cut-outs to a 3D art installation. She created all the pieces, that were then used to reconstruct the Ursa Major constellation. We couldn’t have been happier with how it turned out.’
Each of the shapes from previous singles like Juliet, These Days, and Sunday have all been incorporated into the final 3D artwork, developing and building up to the final album. Her particular style of artwork was suggested by the band to be ‘imagery which carried the band, through all of their single releases.’
Contrastingly, the harmony in the introduction to Leave Me Outside delivers a vulnerable and mysterious penultimate track. The somber and soft spoken lyrics delve deeper into the darker side of the songwriters, particularly in:
I know that I can’t get away, so leave me outside in the cold.’
The presentation of the lines at the top of the track sound almost like a children’s nursery rhyme, before the rest of the band explode into the first verse. The increasing volume change connotes assertiveness, paired with declarative lines like ‘I know this won’t go away.’ The chorus of Leave Me Outside illustrates that Marsicans are not dropping their pop or indie influences in the future, with their style not straying too far from their audience’s established perspectives of who Marsicans are.
It is clear that Marsicans have a consistent sound, and a very clear idea of who they are. The introduction of more obvious emotional material will always be relatable, but they haven’t decided to stop writing songs for us to dance to. After many single releases, it is brilliant to be witnessing an alternative band from Leeds do so well on the indie scene.
