The Marshes

Fledgling (Grass)
by Austin Nash

Hold onto your hot pants, it’s finally here – the sophomore effort from The Marshes. It features ex-members of Rumblepuppy, Dag Nasty, and Down By Law, and offers a much needed no-bullshit post-hardcore sound which vocalist Emil Busi attributes to guitarist Steve Wardlaws’ attention deficit disorder. “Steve can count the bands he likes on one hand – even if he cuts two fingers off. He gets bored quickly so the songs are short and we don’t do choruses, instead we are forced to come up with various melodies, cramming an entire album’s worth into one song.”

The Marshes come to us from Northampton, MA, following up a freshman release on Sike which was praised by a good many publications including MRR, and Ten Things That Jesus Wants You To Know. They’ve played bills with the likes of SNFU, Fugazi, Korn, and Dag Nasty and show touches of similar influences throughout the new album. But only touches. The Marshes have that elusive sprite of quality songwriting on their side; arguably the best characteristic a band can have.

The Marshes are simply a red jellybean in a pot of mushy, mealy limas. Fledgling is like a rockslide on a busy highway. They are finishing up a spicy European tour as we speak and are going to be gearing up a North Continent tour soon, say Veronique and Meridith at Grass. I’m glad somebody’s looking out for our ears.