It’s purely rock ‘n’ roll
New Marvelous Liars album pulses with primal sounds
“Rock ‘n’ roll.” Now, that’s a phrase you just don’t hear much anymore. Just “rock”? Sure, although it’s usually in a hyphenated context — as in folk-rock, post-rock, alt-rock, math-rock, indie-rock, and so on. That’s because at some point there were so many subspecies of rock ‘n’ roll that critics, fans and the musicians themselves felt it necessary to imply certain stylistic characteristics or at least distance themselves from others.
“Rock ‘n’ roll” is almost an antiquated term, although it certainly suggests an era and format — probably best represented by loud volume and the core instrumental trinity of guitar(s), bass and drums. Whether you listened to the Stones, AC/DC and Zep, or grew up with the Babys and Billy Squier or Nirvana, or came of age with Queens of the Stone Age, Foo Fighters and The Strokes — the only and best way to describe it was rock ‘n’ roll. Pure and simple.
In that spirit, you know another word you almost never come across? “Boogie.” That one is REALLY obscure, and yet it, too, conjures associations to fans of a certain era: chugging guitars and driving backbeats and Foghat, Status Quo, Humble Pie and ZZ Top. It’s decidedly rock ‘n’ roll, but it was also one of the first subgenres.
It’s interesting, then, that in a recent interview, Marvelous Liars singer/guitarist/songwriter Nick Johns actually said “rock ‘n’ roll” more than once and even threw in a “boogie,” all in proud reference to his band’s latest self-titled album. “Marvelous Liars” is out today from New London’s Telegraph Recordings Company, and it features 10 concise, driving, exuberant and strutting tunes with titles such as “Leather Jacket,” “Prehab,” “Dog in Heat” and “Already Been Dead,” all of which sound every bit as “rock ‘n’ roll” as you’d think.
Marvelous Liars will perform at a release party tonight in New London’s 33 Golden Street. Copies of the CD will be available for purchase. The Nuclears and Dr. Martino are also on the bill.
“I really appreciate rock ‘n’ roll,” Johns says. “I’d be a very different person and maybe not alive if it wasn’t for rock music. I had what most would consider a rough childhood. My mom had the tough job of raising me basically alone, and she was amazing. I would disappear into music, rock music specifically, as a means to escape reality to the point where all I wanted to do was listen, talk about it, and ultimately create it.”
Johns has been a major force in local bands for years, first with Gone for Good and now with the Liars. Both acts were power trios and Johns, now 36, has always had a distinct vision and passion that fueled his music. Like most musicians, he at least ponders thoughts of stardom and fame, though more in the context of a sustained artistic career rather than perks like limos, tour buses and arenas.
Marvelous Liars also includes longtime drummer Shane O’Connell, and new bassist
Nick Cancelmo came onboard just in time to learn the songs and record the new album. In fact, the absence of a bass player indirectly resulted in “Marvelous Liars.”
“After (the last bass player left), Shane and I had no idea when we'd find a new one, and so we had no idea when we'd be playing live again,” Johns says. “All we could do was lock ourselves in the rehearsal room and work, work, work. We had a lot of nervous energy and used it to write the songs that ended up on the album.”
Until that point, Johns had always been the songwriter in all of his projects. Writing with O'Connell was a new and fruitful experience. “I'd come up with riffs or melodies and record them on my iPhone,” Johns says. “Then we'd get together and figure out structures and cut out a lot of unnecessary fat. The idea was to make it all as concise as possible and kick people in the butt instantly and throughout.”
For O'Connell, 26, being part of the writing process was a revelation. He says, “I've never written songs from start to finish before, even though I've always had ideas for melodies or drum fills floating around in my head. Collaborating with Nick was fun and actually pretty effortless. He would throw a riff at me in practice, and I'd say things like, ‘I don't like that,' ‘Yeah, that works there' or ‘Maybe we could try this.' Nick was really open to criticism from me, and I really enjoyed helping raise each song from a small concept to something bigger than we could have imagined.”
Another huge inspiration was a sort of experiential wake-up call to Johns, who wasn't even aware he was metaphorically asleep. Johns and his wife attended a Foo Fighters concert at Fenway Park. He explains, “I'm a big (Foo leader) Dave Grohl fan, and they just exploded onstage for three hours. My jaw dropped. I realized it had been a real long time since I'd felt that magic in rock ‘n' roll music. I'd been going through the motions. I called Shane and said, ‘I want to capture that again. I want that energy and that spirit.' We didn't have a bass player so there was no time limit or expectations other than to write rock songs and have fun.”
Fortuitously, at about the time O'Connell and Johns had amassed a batch of songs, a friend introduced them to Cancelmo. “He was one of the best bass players I've ever heard in my life,” Johns says, “but at the audition Shane and I had to act like he was just okay. Like, ‘We'll call you.' But the truth was, he walked right in, and we just jammed for about 15 minutes on (Hendrix's) ‘Machine Gun,' and we just knew.”
For Cancelmo, 23, he says, “I was intrigued by the greasy blues-rock sound and the crooked nuances in their chord progressions. It felt really natural for me to tie it together, and it's so refreshing to play original music that reminds me of my own influences — and play with musicians who play rock ‘n' roll because they love it.”
“Marvelous Liars” was recorded at three area studios: Sonalyst's Power Station, Jason Banta's Too Many Front Doors, and Johns' in-house Snow Dagger Studio. Johns produced, and Banta, one of the region's finest engineers, was behind the board. Johns says, “We wanted the sound of big rock guitar and a monster rhythm section. We wanted the songs to come at you and hit you with stuff that you'll only hear once — but you immediately want to hear it again. And we did tons of tracks, but Jason is terrific. It doesn't sound overproduced at all; it sounds live.”
Marvelous Liars are justifiably proud of the new album, and they have plans to play out in support of the recording as much as possible. They'll also work social media and make the tunes available through various streaming and downloading services. They also know it's an insanely competitive field.
“We have high hopes and low expectations,” Johns laughs. “The idea of making it is a nice dream, but that's what it is. We're not doing it to make it. We're rock ‘n' roll lovers, and we're doing it to express ourselves. That's reality. We want people to hear the record or come to one of our shows and have a great time. A lot of these are boogie songs. There are grooves and hooks and you're gonna want to dance. That's what it's about — and I'd forgotten what that feels like.”