In the past few years Leeds has well and truly been filing out talented groups one after the other, one of which is Marsicans, a four piece band whose sound is self proclaimed as “upbeat indie meets dirty pop”. The boys were plugging this last show of their headline tour at Church back in October when I was first introduced to them during their support for Clean Cut Kid, but little did they know 5 months ago the home show was going to be a sellout.
As a 14+ gig, the crowd was a kaleidoscope of ages, with the middle aged group of friends behind me mocking the group to their side whose underage drinking had landed them in an ambulance before the support acts could even begin. Fortunately for the rest of us we made it long enough to be greeted by another of Leeds’ own, The Golden Age of TV, with lead Bea Fletcher revealing that this home gig was made even more special as it was the first show her
dad had seen. Their sound is fresh and layered with experimental synths, bass progressions and monologue-esque overlays. Their current single ‘Beast’ was well received and was a hard act to follow for the second support Vistas, an energetic band from Edinburgh. They, however, rose to the challenge, and had the crowd singing along to their most popular hit ‘Retrospect’ currently being used as the advertising track for Live at Leeds.
With everyone riled up, Marsicans monopolised on the expectant crowd awaiting them and emerged in melodramatic blue lighting, with an almost hymnal yet distorted rendition of their song ‘Friends’ creating suspense. The next hour flew by as the boys sang song after song, beginning with ‘Friends’, the colourful harmonies and riffs working in parallel with their inventive lighting choices to compliment the majestic stain glass filled venue. They followed with ‘Far Away’ before sampling a new song ‘Problems’. After dedicating ‘Arms of Another’ to Kristen, their seamless vocals were interwoven with those of the crowd, joining in word for word to the delight of the band. Everyone got a moment to breathe as the tempo slowed and the atmosphere mellowed for their latest single ‘Wake up Freya’. After rattling through endless thank yous and a quick shoutout to their manager Sam, the much anticipated finale hits ‘Throw Ourselves in’ and ‘Absence’ marked the end of an electrifying homecoming show and debut tour.
Despite being relatively fresh in the industry, Marsicans have clearly made their mark on the Northern crowds and will undoubtedly have many more sold out shows to come. With a vibrant aesthetic and dynamic take on indie pop, the spirited yet humble foursome of friends are inevitably only just getting started.