Marietta - Summer Death

 

Marietta - Summer Death

2021 LP (Dog Knights Productions, Near Mint)

After seeing that truly insane Best Friends Forever Fest lineup drop yesterday (someone please fly me out) which includes a Marietta reunion, I thought it was a great time to write about one of my favorite bands. I actually started writing this post a few hours before that lineup or the reunion was even announced, so I guess I’m a prophet… you’re welcome!

Marietta are a midwest emo / emo revival band from Philadelphia who formed in 2011. They released a few EPs, including a split with Modern Baseball, and two albums. Summer Death was their first album, released in 2013. It was originally released by New Jersey label Soft Speak Records, and was later reissued by Dog Knights and Near Mint. My copy is a recent(ish) reissue that was a joint release between these two labels; I found it used in Philadelphia, which seems fitting (and dear God, I hope that my next trip to Philly is for a Marietta show). This record has been annoyingly expensive and hard to find for a few years now, so hopefully somewhere down the line it gets the proper widespread reissue it deserves. 

To me, Marietta represent the ultimate result of a scene that was building in Philadelphia for the years prior to their existence. I hold the belief that basically most of the best music in the history of emo as a genre came out of the Philadelphia area. Since the early 2000s, there had been a lineage of bands and members that slowly began rifling around in the underground and creating some of the best music ever. Some of these bands include Boy Problems, Snowing, Harrison Bergeron, Algernon Cadwallader, The Lady is Not for Burning, Glocca Morra, Make Me, Street Smart Cyclist, Boys and Sex, and many, many more (a lot of these will likely get their own writeups someday). Marietta existed at the tail end of the first emo revival, which many call the 4th wave, just as it was beginning to turn into modern emo, or 5th wave. Their music definitely embodies the trademark “twinkly” sound that many bands of this era had which, while it can at times annoy me when other bands do it, Marietta executes the style so perfectly that their music is basically undeniable. Summer Death is basically a greatest hits compilation, as every single song has stood the test of time in both quality and popularity. Marietta are one of the most popular emo bands among younger people into the genre for a reason: their music is incredibly relatable. If you are a confused teenager (like myself and most people I know), basically every lyric on this album will hit hard. The second track, Cinco De Mayo Shit Show, which has long been one of their most popular songs, is probably the best song on this album when taken out of context of the rest of the record. It’s catchy, anthemic, and beautiful. The song culminates in singer Evan Lescallette melancholically wailing, “I’m getting too old for this shit, I’m throwing fits and acting like a kid again.” This lyric and song so perfectly encapsulates what it feels like to be navigating your life at a young age- having no idea what you’re doing or what’s going on and getting by on what feels like luck. You’re always unsure about everything, and you never feel like you’re actually mature enough to be the age that you are. It’s poignant, sad, and beautiful; everything that emo music should be.

The first side of Summer Death is much more acoustic and pop-heavy than the second; both Deck WIne and You’ve Got the Map Backwards, Matt have acoustic guitar in them, giving the beginning of this record a much more melodramatic vibe. The B-side of the record starts with God Bless Eric Taylor: this is probably my favorite song they ever wrote. On the original and vinyl versions (not on streaming, for a reason that I assume relates to copyright), the song starts with a sample of British comedy Spaced, before a guitar line comes in to lead in the rest of the band. This song represents the core of emo revival. Witty samples, twinkly riffs, satisfying builds and endings, and anthemic group vocals. It also has a lyric lifted from the Street Smart Cyclist song Kiss Kitty On the Lips, which I’m not sure I’ve ever seen noticed before online. For the rest of the three songs on side B of Summer Death, Marietta demonstrates their ability to write emo that infuses elements of post-rock; these three songs are much more drawn out, slow, and out-there creatively than the first side. There’s even a trumpet, which means that Mike Kinsella would probably be proud. I’m sure most people reading this have listened to Summer Death before, but as it starts to warm up here in the northeast, it’s the perfect time for a relisten*. Even thirteen years after its release, it remains as relevant as ever, with so many new bands continuing to lift Marietta’s sound and change it up. Summer Death is a pinnacle of 2010s emo, and shows what makes the genre so great.

*I was sitting in the car yesterday listening to this album and I got hit by a sunbeam and it literally felt like I was doing heroin. Would recommend.

As has become commonplace here, I’ve included a download to a high-quality rip of Summer Death along with my favorite video of them playing. Enjoy, and have a great day!

Marietta - Summer Death

1. ..so they left me at a gas station

2. cinco de mayo shit show

3. you've got the map backwards, matt

4. deck wine

5. god bless eric taylor

6. ever is a long time (ever is no time at all)

7. chase, i hardly know ya

8. fuck, dantooine is big

Marietta Live @ Moonbase Nix (6/19/2024)