Fragile Album is Rock Solid
Minneapolis independent band Fragile promotional shot for their debut album.
Twelve perfectly placed songs seamlessly glide together, telling a cohesive story that Marrier said came from humble beginnings. An idea from his cousin, who was studying film, to make several short films for his portfolio got Marrier thinking. “The whole process started out with simple ideas, we do what we normally do, took breaks, made new tracks. We didn’t know where it was going but really started a whole new idea with my cousin.” With this concept in mind, Marrier put pen to paper and created a few songs. With this new found drive, he also found a common theme he wanted to incorporate in the album. A lifelong fan of western themed movies, he latched onto the ideology and cinematic feel of the Wild West and created the masterpiece that is This Land Will Be Civilized.
The album, spanning just under forty-five minutes, has a steady stream of music that leads the listener from one song to the next. Just like a book, This Land Will Be Civilized has a beginning, middle and end. Opening the album is the introduction track “Reckoning”, a gentle chorus of strings that lays out the canvas for the entire album. It draws the listener in with an almost melodic chant of violins and other string instruments. The next four songs work together to tell a story of the impending apocalypse and how we as humans still have time to turn our lives around. The old western feel is definitely present in the fourth track titled “No.” It almost paints a picture of two foes having a duel at 30 paces. “When I write I like there to be a theme,” Marrier said. “We started with that and it took on an epic feel. This sort of western feel throughout the album really gave it a cinematic feel. Even though were weren’t trying for it, I’m excited it happened that way.”
An interlude in the middle titled “Retreat” spikes up the intensity with the strings as a sense of urgency becomes apparent in the sound. It almost feels as if it is foreshadowing the feeling for the rest of the album. Amid sounds of blowing wind, the interlude ends with a heavy chorus of violins. The remainder of the album takes on a secular feel as the tracks “Down to the River” and “Purgatory” draw out Marrier’s inner demons and character struggle to be saved. “I didn’t want to vibe it either way on the religious subject but religion can be such a polarizing thing. It’s interesting spiritually. These two are different but the same. I grew up in the church and sometimes there is going to be that idea.” People write what they know and Marrier knows how to grab a listeners attention.
The finale to the album titled “Redemption” stays with the strict musicianship of the introduction and interlude. Waves crash in the background as the deep sounds of the string instruments linger. As each note is slowly but deliberately delivered, the listener is given a sense of reflection on the lessons presented in the album. The ending to the book like record left me feeling relaxed and ready to listen again.
My Top Three Picks:
1. Fire Within A Flame- A deep chant from Marrier begins the song about the end of the world, “an unopposed apocalypse.” Even though this doom is forecasted, a concept becomes clear, we still aren’t changing our ways. The chorus presents another notion that even though we will all die, we still have the chance to make an impact.
”It will crumble someday
I will go down in flames
But in my wake a light will remain
Fighting for love and
Fighting for change
And up from the ashes of my remains
A fire will rise up from the flames.”
2. Songbird- The first song after the interlude. A quiet, ballad-like love song about a girl running away and a loving boy chasing after her. “This was actually the most challenging song for me to write lyrically,” Marrier said. “My wife and I had just gotten pregnant and it was our first child. It was a whole new experience for us and it inspired me to finish this song.” The idea of protecting the one you love was the main focus for the song, a concept that was now intimately a part of Marrier’s new life.
“Faintly though at first
The songbird well rehearsed
Building slow upon the verse
Sent her song to guide me
No matter which road I choose
They all lead back to you.”
3. Down to the River- This song is unlike any other on the album. It begins very fast and brings along hard guitar sounds. This song definitely got my blood running and feet tapping. I was excited to hear Marrier push his vocal skills to the limit and really use it to his advantage throughout the chorus. Lyrically, this song described the last wishes of a dying man to reach a river in order that his life, or afterlife, be saved. Another man in the song helps the dying man venture to the river only to find it has been dried up. This painful struggle to find redemption never comes to the man as he dies at the feet of the dried basin. “This story I started writing and knew I wanted to twist it at the end,” Marrier laughed as I said I was heartbroken that the man never received salvation. “The idea just came to me and it was awful. But, I’m all about finding a great story and putting a crazy twist on it. There is something pretty incredible about putting everything on the line to help someone fulfill their dying wish.” Even though Marrier said he didn’t dwell on a religious theme for the song, it still serves as a humbling experience of the struggles some people go through just to find redemption at the end of life.
“But we finally came to rest
And at the foot of his last breath
He said, ‘Just over the next hill I swear I can hear it.’
So I went on ahead and found the river bed
But it was dry.”
A Fragile Future
Currently, Marrier and his brother Chauncey, guitarist, are furthering their favorite cause, the Hands Foundation. Aimed at helping those in need, the Hands Foundation is a non-profit 501c corporation inspired after a youth trip to Monterrey Mexico in 2003 showed the true conditions of the homeless residents. The foundation’s first plan was to build houses for homeless people in Monterrey at least once a year. So far, it has been successful in yielding one to two houses a year. While promoting this cause, the band is also proud to announce their performance slot at the 4th Annual Ovarian Cancer Benefit “It Whispers So Listen and Overcome” at First Avenue on April 17, 2010. “We do work with our foundation a lot and we are always into playing for a reason and for a purpose,” Marrier said. “We play a lot of shows to raise money for the Hands Foundation and it’s important to get causes like this and the benefit out there. We are always willing to play for something positive like this.”
While getting ready to launch their debut album, Fragile is staying active with several shows in Minneapolis as well as the Florida Music Festival in Orlando. The album is slated to hit shelves and online retailers May 18, 2010, with a much anticipated album release show on May 15th at the Fine Line in downtown Minneapolis. Marrier said they hope audiences see the hard work that has been put into this record. “I hope they realize how important music is to us,” he said. “And, how we want to further along the music scene and give something to it. We set out to make something special so audiences can get something out of our music. It’s not just for certain people, it’s for everyone to relate to. I hope that it reaches a lot of different people.”
For more information about Fragile, visit their website or MySpace. For more information about The Hands Foundation, visit their website . For more information about the 4th Annual Ovarian Cancer Benefit visit www.benefitrock.com.
