Review Summary: Every band has a beginning
Marinas Trench have defiantly invaded the airwaves (the Canadian ones anyway) with a very strong presence in pop band territory. But all bands have a start and Marinas Trench is a dark, unforgiving LP known as Fix Me. Not many would know of front man Josh Ramsey’s dance with drugs, depression, and even bulimia. Such truths are examined in great detail on this full length. A side of the band before drum machines, and electronic synths around every corner. A pop punk sound with some downright guilt inducing hooks surrounded around human tragedy.
This album wastes absolutely no time with its greeting. “Say Anything” is as infectious as any pop rock anthem can get, quickly one can identify that vocalist Josh Ramsey is the focal point of this band. His vocal delivery is strong and varied compared to singers in most genres let alone pop punk. The instrumentation is not as strong, but the band as a whole manages to pull themselves together often enough to support the vocals and give each song a little flavor. Best examples are the Elevator Esq. “Decided to Break It” and the bone chilling “Low”. Most songs go for a more aggressive take such as “Shake Tramp” an easy choice for a single. With its enraged vocals, red bull drinking pace, and shamelessly catchy chanting for a chorus it makes a perfect highlight track.
This album brings another interesting quality to the mix, lyrics! Dark, clever, reserved, gloomy, this is the diary of a man’s anguish. Behind every catchy, danceable anthem is a lyric following Ramsey’s self destructive path through drug abuse, and other forms of self inflicted damage. Every single track works as a basket filled with suffering of all shades. For some this could be a detractor, but I find the album is able to use its pop appeal to keep you in high spirits while still appreciating something with a bit more depth than parties and hooking up with girls (haha). Also the lyricism is always done well enough that it keeps you interested, and always leaves a little to the imagination (avoiding overly vivid wordings on most tracks, usually giving more than one interpretation).
The Last four tracks are contrasted against the first four greatly. Being the friendly pop sound is a little laid down, in place of a vicious, anger driven musicianship and some gritty as hell vocal melodies. Still staying catchy (if not somewhat gimmicky at times) , the band is able to throw in the uncomfortable ensemble of “Far From Here” (complete with a few screams), “Vertigo's” spastic beat/rhythm, and “Alive Again’s “passive aggressive structure. But my hat goes off to the power ballad closer “Skin and Bones”. This is where Ramsey quits beating around the bush in a cathartic blast, detailing his experience with bulimia. A tear jerker by all means with a possible “happy ending” if you will, promising to “burn all this” maybe as a foreshadowing for the direction of future releases (maybe I’m diving to deep here).
This is a great album. Not overall technical, a bit depressing, and the album isn’t paced too well often going from hard to soft a bit rigidly. None the less this is a solid release for the pop punk genre, powerhouse vocals with “good enough” instrumentation. Hey even the gimmicks are cute adding a bit of playful nature to what would be a very grim release. All bands have a start, and I’d say Marianas Trench has nothing short of a diamond in the rough. Give it a listen if you aren’t too busy.
