Album Review: Marsicans - 'Ursa Major'
It has taken five long years for Marsicans to push themselves to the forefront of indie music and break the glass ceiling of the mainstream, not even a pandemic could stand in their way as they release their debut LP ‘Ursa Major’ into the world.
Their success has been a long time coming, since their formative years when cutting their teeth in venues around their natives Leeds whilst still in school, fast forward to 2020 and that momentum sits with this four-piece as their infectiously bittersweet anthems have seen them touted by many as one of 2020’s stand out acts and plans to play the prestigious SXSW before COVID-19 took over the world.
Recorded at the legendary Rockfield Studios, ‘Ursa Major’ is a collection of tracks that see Marsicans come of age, exploring what it is like to be young men exploring the modern world. ‘Ursa Major’ is also their opportunity to expand their palette sonically and lyrically as they purposefully take the gleam off their pop sound to give the listener something that is raw and more importantly real.
Tracks like ‘Dr Jekyll’, ‘Someone Else’s Touch’ and ‘Blood In My Eye’, see this band carve out a new, more vulnerable soundscape that’s different to anything that has come before it. Don’t think for one second that the quartet would betray their talent for infectious hooks and choruses, with ‘Summery In Angus’ being a great example of a chorus and riff that really doesn’t want to leave your brain even hours after the track has stopped.
From riding around in an old post van to swapping Bradford for the legendary Rockfield, the odds have never been in the favour of these four lads. ‘Ursa Major’ is that turning point, defying and surpassing every expectation to present their defining piece of work and one of the year’s best debut albums.
Words by Danial Kennedy