Marianas Trench - A Normal Life

[richiebee]

I've tried a few times to do a deep analysis of this song - the opening track on their 2024 album Haven, and I keep abandoning it. The song doesn't follow a regular song form, it has no rhyming scheme. It just is seven minutes of epic.

Instrumentation is huge (full symphonic orchestra, 80's synths, full heavy rock band, and some Queen like backing vocals), all showcasing the amazing lead vocals of singer and writer Josh Ramsay. The cinematic and symphonic vibe, the huge vocal range (C5 down to F2 in just the first four vocal lines) and very singable, very musical in spite of not really following anything predictably. Production is top notch, and big.

Tempo is either 75bpm or 150bpm (I'd say 150) when it kicks in after a mysterious intro.

I'm surprised to not see any mention of Marianas Trench on this forum. While they have signature themes and sounds, they somehow keep things really fresh and have a quite unusual way of forming songs.

I can't explain why I can't stop playing this track. I was late to the party, but so glad to have come across it. The title track, which closes the album, is also worth your time. It absolutely seamlessly weaves themes from the whole album in an epic ending track.


Here are the lyrics...

Idle hands that long to spill
The dangers of standing still
And sleepless nights to kill
How can this be right?

But what about all those voices in the night?
Whispering the things that keep me from a normal life
Everything almost fits together right
But in the end I don't belong inside a normal

Liars creep on every side
Smiles like razors open wide
And fade into
Fade into the (night)

But what about all those voices in the night?
Speaking all the things that keep me from a normal life
But everything almost fits together right
But in the end I don't belong inside a normal
(Don't belong inside a normal)
Ordinary life

This normal life
It don't feel right
This normal life
It don't feel right

Someday, somewhere
I'll belong there

Could leave tonight and run
And make a bitter fool of everyone
Could leave tonight and run
And make a bitter fool of everyone
Before I come undone

Someday, somewhere I

But what about all those voices in the night?
Screaming (leave this normal life)
Everything almost fits together right
But in the end I don't belong inside a normal
Don't belong inside a normal
I don't belong inside a normal

Wake me from this
Save me from this
Ordinary life

I know hands with time to kill
Standing still there (still this normal)
Life

 

[Jacob]

thanks for sharing the track, sounds very cool!
I'll share what I find interning that you didn't mention yet.

- the beginning of the song does not really have any rhythmic instruments ands keeps the tempo ambiguous till around 0:50 seconds in when the strings come in and then you get a sense of the time signature when the synth comes in at 1:02.
I really enjoy songs that keep the time signature ambiguous and even throw you off by emphasizing syncopated notes in the rhythm and then reveal the downbeats. here is one example of a pop song that does this ( just at the beginning), try to bop your head to it

- there a lot of model interchange between miner and major(/and mixolydian),
first is an Ostinato about 0:50 the feels miner
then the synth comes in at 1;02 and it changes to Mixolydian, then when the lead vocal comes in at about 1:15 it implies a backdoor dominant progression on top of the ostinato, which tends to have a weirdly uplifting feel , especially that the tonic is the only indicator that we might be in major at this point.
then at 1:40 we go to full on majer hoping between the 4th and 5th for about 30 secends which feels really refreshing (coming from the very unsettling backdoor dominant that hopes majer and miner).

for now that as for as I'll analyze, just realized how much time went by analyzing this song and I have to go to bed. lol
but the arangment is defenetly amazing and it huge.

 

[richiebee]

Thanks Jacob. I'd never heard of a backdoor dominant before. Must try that out.

Forgot to mention in my OP that Marianas Trench released an instrumental version of this album, which is literally the album minus ALL the vocals. Its quite an eye opener. The (brilliant) vocals tend to obscure some of what's going on in the background and its an excellent listen in its own right, especially if you like cinematic soundtracks. I feel as though it could be used as a movie soundtrack, literally as is.

 

[Jacob]

i haven’t heard of this band before, and I really enjoyed this song, would you perhaps know any similar music or what this genre is called?
I gotta listen to the instrumental now.

 

[richiebee]

I think technically it might be Prog Rock, or maybe Prog Pop? They are quite popular as a pop band here in Canada, and they have had many singles in the charts (and singer Josh Ramsay has co-produced lots of songs by other artists), but they seem to go with a thematic approach in their albums - almost like a concept album. Although I remember lots of their singles from the radio, discovering this album was a real treat and surprise for me. When I decided to give it a listen, I never expected anything like I got.

This one does repeat some themes from previous albums, and fans seem to either love to hear the throwbacks, or they complain about it, but they are all new songs, and regardless of what you might tihnk of this approach, you can't deny the writing brilliance, and orchestration. Josh Ramsay is a grand master of incorporating/interweaving his own themes seamlessly, and this is most evident in the title track of this album (Haven).