Something Pop / Something Rock - Marianas Trench's "Ever After"

January 23, 2022

If I were "The Little Mermaid"’s Ursula and Josh Ramsey Ariel, I would have no qualms stealing his voice. He can lull; he can scream; he can belt at a soprano pitch with enough grit for a family of four’s southern breakfast. His talents are also worth risking a grand larceny criminal charge for: he plays piano, bass, harmonica, guitar, and drums. He composes, engineers, and produces. The secret ingredient to the catchiness of Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe”? Josh Ramsey.

Upon a friend’s recommendation, I listened to “Ever After,” and it became an instant favorite. Four of their five albums would make my top 100 albums list, if I ever actually put one together. (That fifth album is their debut - good, if rather standard pop punk.) I saw them in 2019 with that friend during their Suspending Gravity tour. Josh Ramsey’s vocals are that good live. Naturally, his voice is the album centerpiece, but every band member’s performance is impeccable.

I shared their more guitar-heavy 2015 LP “Astoria” with my online music community, and it united many different rock and metal fans in appreciation of their talents. My coworker, former theatre kid and lover of a good voice, adores MT. (Somehow he hates Freddie Mercury, but I’m working on that.) I made MT the background music one night during a weekend staycation with friends, and everyone commented on how good the music was. I have yet to meet someone who dislikes Marianas Trench.

I digress. The heartfelt lyrics and hearty harmonies on “Ever After” elevate the album above standard pop fare. The titular opening track tells us what we’re going to hear with motifs from upcoming tracks, in typical MT fashion. The closing track “No Place Like Home” tells us what we heard. In between, tracks like “Porcelain,” “Fallout,” and “Toy Soldiers” touch on topics of tenderness after tragedy, disappointed heartbreak, and blazing condemnation of rabid fandom. Standard pop fare is always a cotton-candy delight, but Marianas Trench’s pop gives us meatier sweets, like your grandma’s apple pie or a good creme brulee. Side note: If news breaks that Josh Ramsey woke up one day voiceless, it wasn't me.

Highlights:

• “Ever After:” Few bands and fewer pop bands take the pains Marianas Trench do to make a cohesive album, and it starts with their unforgettable openers.

• “Porcelain:” When I’m down, few songs make me feel less alone than this song. It’s an excellent lesson in songwriting: its gradual swell to powerful height never overwhelms its tender lyrics.

• “Toy Soldiers:” Who else but Marianas Trench would take fanmail and turn it into a polemic against rabid, unhealthy fandom?