Marmozets are back, and they’ve brought everything that made them essential in the first place. ‘CO.WAR.DICE.,’ their first album in 7 years, arrives May 22nd via Nettwerk, and new single “New York” is the most immediate proof yet that the wait has been worth every second. Becca Bottomley’s vocals remain as ferocious and blood-letting as ever, now channelled into songs with a melodic weight and directness that hit harder for the restraint behind them.
The album’s origin story is genuinely warm. Becca and her husband, guitarist Jack Bottomley, had become parents and settled into a new chapter of life together when an impromptu Friday night jam produced “New York,” their first new song in years. “We reminisced of our first trip over a bottle of red as we recorded ideas,” Becca explains. “We met a police officer smoking a cigar outside JFK airport, got in a cab while ‘Africa’ by Toto blasted out of the radio as we approached Manhattan. We wanted to write something that encapsulated that ’70s punk energy while painting a picture of this wild experience we had playing a show downtown to secure our first record deal.”
The lineup has shifted slightly but powerfully. Drummer brother Josh Macintyre helped shape the demos, while sibling Sam Macintyre moved from guitar to bass following the amicable departure of original member Will Bottomley. The adapted lineup opened up new sonic space, with influences like The Cramps and Devo feeding into sessions primarily produced by Johnathan Gilmore, whose credits include Biffy Clyro and Nothing But Thieves. “CO.WAR.DICE. is an album reflecting on the state of our world and a vow to ourselves to leave this world in a better place,” Becca says. “Like any story, there’s a beginning, middle and end, and we’ve chosen for a happy ending.”
This summer, Marmozets return to major stages, opening for Biffy Clyro at their 45,000-capacity Finsbury Park show on July 3rd. ‘CO.WAR.DICE.’ drops May 22nd, and it sounds like a band who needed every one of those 7 years to arrive at something this assured.