If you’re anyone like me, you’ve had the pleasure of watching the Marsh Family grow. Not only through the years, but the kind of music you get to experience. From sweet songs that have a place in your heart to the ones about the state of your heart, there’s tremendous change in the way this real-life family writes music. Their latest album is their proper debut, folk-pop that still has the strength to inspire and move and, most importantly, inspire others to create. This one is called Hollow Chapters, an introspective reflection of our times.
Incredible storytelling
When Artefact opens this album, you’re drawn to the percussion, leading the charge. Harmonies and chord progressions come in immediately after, with powerful layered lead parts. The vocals you’re treated to have the woven fabric of reality while having a dreamy aura that swirls with the ongoing rhythm section. The composition is mature and reflects through different time signatures, suddenly switching with how the progression greets you. If you want to talk about a quick switch you never saw coming, press play on A New Way.
Folk, pop and rock
From a rocking funk groove to deep-seated reggae roots, Marsh Family brings a tectonic shift to this song. It is a refreshing return to a retro soul which used to dominate film soundtracks back when people spent time in theatres. I like how the band never compromises on all the layers that make the song so incredible; the rhythms are wrapped tight, the vocals suit the theme of the song and there’s constant variance and versatility in the arrangement. Sit for the Road is the kind of guitar-piano ballad that writes itself as the folk gem the band have been preserving. In so many years, I haven’t heard these kinds of melodies within the songs that are fed to me by the algorithm. This is what you get when music is an outpour of musicians’ souls, connecting with that primal part inside all of us.
Marsh Family showing incredible range
Listening to Hollow Chapters depicts a range of harmonies with a spine that’s definitely a meld of rock and folk. Whether the Marsh Family plans to write the laments of the heart or encouraging anthems, they’ve carved a great deal of detail into these sonic sculptures. The maturity that you’re listening to is awe-inspiring, keeping with their theme of making music that is relevant and society needs to hear. From the choice of instruments gracing songs with their symbolic nature to how the shell of the song shifts to another subgenre is incredible.
You might have listened to a wide range of music in the past week, month or year, but I can guarantee this kind of range is incredibly rare to find. You’d never expect Turn that Groove Around to come after You Were Gone, but you get to experience that mixtape-like moment here. Marsh Family are here to stay, with music that reminds us why we’re here to stay. Ask them to play anything; they’ll probably have a vision for it in a moment for you:
Follow them on X and Instagram!
Check out our playlists here!
Check out our YouTube channel for music reviews, playlists, podcasts, and more!
Disclaimer: This release was brought to you by a promotional campaign by the artist, PR, or management label
