“Tell me what’s going on in your world, we’re all living in different ones.”
If you were a fan of alternative music in the early 10’s then the chances are you will have heard of Marmozets. Exploding onto the scene with an average age of just 15 the band – Becca Bottomley (lead vocals), Jack Bottomley (guitar), Sam Macintyre (guitar/bass/vocals), and Josh Macintyre (drums) – became one of the brightest new acts in rock with their critically acclaimed 2014 debut The Weird and Wonderful Marmozets. By 2015 they were even supporting Muse on tour, and were seemingly unstoppable.
But then came the long haul. The band’s second album. 2017’s Knowing What You Know Now was heavily delayed when Becca was hospitalised after being diagnosed with hypermobility syndrome, and following the end of that album’s touring cycle, the band went on an extended hiatus, during which bandmates Becca and Jack got married and started a family.
Now armed with a new deal from Vancouver’s Nettwerk Music Group, their third offering CO.WAR.DICE sees them finally rise to their rightful place in the vanguard of modern post-hardcore. Filling the gap left by Paramore’s genre bending and rivaling Dream State and As December Falls in scope, it’s a record that refuses to play it safe, even after eight years away.
Becca Bottomley’s used the time away wisely, her vocal delivery is leagues ahead of her early work on The Weird and Wonderful Marmozets. She honours Janis Joplin as she wails to a fast paced rockabilly beat on album opener “A Kiss From A Mother”. Behind her Jack’s guitar is still as razor sharp as it ever was, Sam Macintyre’s bass is gritty and dirty and Josh’s drums give a formidable backbone to the operation.
There are more surprises in store as the album progresses. The latest single “Cut Back” is electro post-hardcore cut that slams into your ears. As Becca expresses her wish to “feel high forever”, Jack’s guitars glitch and stutter, the synths crush into the mix, and Josh’s drums thunder that four to the floor. It’s going to be a huge moshpit starter.
Elsewhere, “I Swear I’m Alive” drops it down to a murky dream pop beat before breaking into a chorus that borders anthem rock. Think The XX plays Wolf Alice with Sam’s bass thundering in the mix. It’s the closest the band have got to a Bond theme.
“Dandy” even goes to Beabadobee’s territory, acoustic punk that strips everything down to Becca’s voice and Jack’s guitar for an emotional flourish. “Tomorrow’s going to be the brightest day you’ll see”, Becca sings as the chorused flagging guitar is immersed into synth pads. A later highlight, “Flowerz,” is pure cinematic maximalism. Becca’s vocal is venomous as Macintyre’s drums descend like a hailstorm on to the beds of churning guitar, proving the band aren’t confined to their alt-rock origins.
The album ends in pure nostalgia with “Keep Going Darling,” tying the band’s past and present together in a Möbius strip of influence and resurgence. Sam’s guitars finally go supersonic echoing over the mix, Josh’s drums sound compressed, and Becca finally channels The Runaways as she decries “I did my best god damn the rest” before launching into an anthemic chorus.
However, that’s not to say it’s without issues. With such a grab bag of ideas the album sounds like the band were so anxious to please their fans and so excited about making music again that every sonic idea had been left in the pot. The worst offender is “New York”, a derivative anthem that tries to channel 70s punk to illustrate the group’s first trip to the big apple. Instead it tips dangerously close to the Ting Tings “That’s Not My Name” with its chorus “One day, two day, maybe three/We’ll carry along till we feel nothing at all” sounding poorly placed within this otherwise perfectly pitched comeback. Minor missteps aside, Marmozets are finally back for good, the once and future alternative rock royalty finally making good on their early promise.
