Marmalade Crack on With Their Five-Track Debut EP
Auckland-based duo Marmalade makes a lofty impression with their clean-pop/indie-rock music on their reflective debut EP ‘Sober.’
Auckland-based duo Marmalade makes a lofty impression with their clean-pop/indie-rock music on their reflective debut EP ‘Sober.’
‘Sober’ encompasses themes of self-doubt, dependence, and self-discovery while reflecting on personal challenges and the nuances of human interactions. It bundles up the pair’s earlier releases – ‘Bright,’ ‘Awkward,’ and ‘Caffeine High’ – while also adding two fresh sounds in ‘Houston’ and ‘Cigarette Habit.’ Jemilah Ross-Hayes and Koen Aldershof likely nicked from the title of the EP, traced in the lyrics of ‘Cigarette Habit’ and punk-rock score ‘Awkward.’
“‘Sober’ captures a state of mind,” the pair communicated in a press statement. “It’s a slap-in-the-face realization, a kindhearted reminder from a close friend, a sharp look in the mirror, a groggy morning after, a first sip of coffee. Each song explores this feeling in a different way—some more abstract, some more literal.”
‘Houston,’ the new single, sees shared vocal performances and exhibits a cry for help, touching upon the feeling of being overwhelmed and frantically craving to vanish. The tune is sealed with melliferous singing, flowing rhythm guitars, and booming shouts of “Somebody help me out,” an outburst felt universally in times of desperation and despair.
Clocking at around four minutes, ‘Cigarette Habit’ commences with chirpy bird whistles, flows with pulsating drums, and flashy electric guitar licks over beefy bass relays, all carefully packed to deliver a melancholic composition. The track delves into substance abuse through the account of two friends tangled in addiction, trying to overcome this habit but ultimately caving in, with lyricism referencing Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, often disputed between a children’s story and a tale about drugs and hallucinations.
On this venture, Marmalade is assisted by seasoned musicians—drummer Dean Rodrigues, guitarist Liam Nuttall, and bassist Chelsea Naepi. Each song was mixed by a different audio engineer, plastering their own flair to the record: Scott Seabright with ‘Bright’ (2023), Luan Meaker on ‘Awkward’ with ‘2023’, Emily Wheatcroft-Snape on ‘Caffeine High’ (2024), Finn McClellan on ‘Houston’, and Koen Aldershof on ‘Cigarette Habit.’
“This EP has been produced in-house by Koen, and all the recording was done at our home studio, except for the drums, which were recorded at Broome Recordings. It’s been really special and also incredibly advantageous to have a production brain in our pocket,” said Jemilah of the new record.
Find Marmalade on: Instagram | Spotify
Check more new releases from New Zealand-based artists –
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