Martial Arts – Before The Fire
Martial Arts are a Manchester five-piece: Jim Marson (vocals/guitar), Matthew Pearce (vocals/guitar), Jack Brown (guitar), Robbie Beale (bass), and Tom Dunnell (drums). “Before The Fire” is their second preview of debut EP From The Burnoff, due June 5th on 5dB Records. Produced by Craig Silvey (Arcade Fire, Arctic Monkeys, Florence and The Machine) and mixed and engineered by Dani Bennett Spragg (Sam Fender, English Teacher), with mastering by Harvey Birrell. Recorded at 5dB Studios.
The song is about the narrowing of ambition: not revolution, not success, just the faint hope of owning somewhere to live. “It’s a song about how the big dream became just owning a house”, Marson says, “the pressure of scraping by and the quiet ever growing discomfort that comes with it, and the self-awareness to admit we’re still fortunate.” That self-awareness is doing real work here. A lot of songs about economic anxiety either wallow or rage; this one holds both feelings at once without resolving them. “Wake up and smell the mud” lands harder than any grand statement would.
References to Pavement and Sebadoh make sense on paper, but what strikes me is how physical the song feels: guitars clattering against each other, the rhythm section keeping things taut rather than loose. Silvey’s production is clean without flattening the edges. A full UK headline run is due to be announced in late May.
From The Burnoff is out June 5th on 5dB Records.
Tour Dates:
Europe:
- May 20 – Rennes, France – Antipode (w/ Lime Garden)
- May 21 – Lille, France – L’Aéronef
- May 22 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Pretty Pissed Festival
- May 23 – Rotterdam, Netherlands – V11
UK:
- May 7 – Manchester, UK – Castle Hotel (SOLD OUT)
- May 8 – London, UK – The Blue Basement, Third Man Records (SOLD OUT)
- May 14-16 – Brighton, UK – The Great Escape
