Hello again! So I have some good news and some bad news: the bad news is that all of you who read my blog with maximal religious fervor will have to wait one more day for tales of Bonnaroo because last night I got really distracted by a band that’s new to me, and you should hear about them now; the good news is, I got really distracted by a band that’s new to me and you get to hear about them now! Last night I went up to The Parish to catch The Frontier Brothers because we all know they’re my favorite Austin band, but I also got to see Speak, The Eastern Sea and Marmalakes. Everyone was making a big fuss about Speak, which turned out to be fun, but largely a glorified karaoke night. Their tunes were danceable, but the audience, as my friend described, looked like Night of the Living Dead all the way up to the stage. Anyway, you can check them out at ACL and decide for yourself, but I was underwhelmed. It may just be one of those things where it was built up too much beforehand, like M. Night Shyamalan’s The Village, or something.
But back to the matter at hand, MARMALAKES! Marmalakes in a word? Joyful. Soulful. Okay, two words. Guitarist, Chase Weinacht, told me that he and drummer, Josh Halpern, had been playing together for about three years, but Marmalakes are just on their second year together. Anyway, this local trio kicked off the night, explicitly thrilled to be playing The Parish for the first time, and their energy spread like a fever. I literally heard an AMEN! or two slip from the audience. It was hardly 9:00 and the place was bouncing, attention completely commanded by the unassuming Marmalakes. Simply put, these guys were arguably the set of the night. When their set first got started, the sincerity behind Weinacht's, vocals lured me away from the bar, but I have to admit that before the second song, I was already planning to write that they were another nice, folky band in town. What began as a standard mellow set, with brushes on drums and tender vocal harmonies, spontaneously erupted throughout the entire set into delightful indie rock.
I’d say the vocals are reminiscent of The Decemberists, and their folk-inspired riffs and honest songwriting remind me of The Avett Brothers, but that’s as far as I’ll draw comparisons; Marmalakes play with a truly unique cadence that’s pleasantly full of surprises and doesn’t compare to many bands out there right now. Things first picked up when they started to play my personal favorite lick, “Vittoria,” and these guys just came uncorked; acoustic guitars rarely rock this hard. This is not to say that I didn’t love the slower songs; it’s quite the contrary. At one point, Halpern, gave the sticks a rest and impressed everyone with his voice as we all sank together into the poetic lyricism and organic rhythm. All three of these guys have a voice on them for sure, and the vocal harmonies stand out as one of the most enjoyable parts of their sound. They played a new song called, “Turquoise Blue,” and I haven’t caught the ooh-eee-oohs so hard in a long time; it was my first time seeing the band and I already felt myself singing along.
I hope everyone will venture out to see Marmalakes as soon as possible. It is not every day you come across a band this talented that is as gracious, warm and sincere; it’s remarkable and refreshing. This band plays with a wide-eyed wonder that intrigues and it’s hard not to smile when you see musicians legitimately having this good a time making music together. I somehow lucked into acquiring their new EP at the show last night, but you can get your hands on it at their release party, July 8 at Cactus Café with Mother Falcon. It would be really foolish to miss this show, so make sure to check their WEBSITE! To all the cool kids, I’ll see you there.
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