Having recently dotted the line with indie label Killing Moon (Fizzy Blood, Racing Glaciers), Leeds upstarts Marsicans reveal their hotly anticipated debut album Ursa Major be released on May 22nd. The band have also just revealed a performance video for their brand new single Juliet. Watch and listen below.
Juliet follows on from the equally bold Can I Stay Here Forever (pt.II), the first track to be revealed from the new album a few weeks ago. Like their previous videos, the video for Juliet was shot by their long-term visual collaborators, Leeds based Sodium Films.
Marsicans bassist/vocalist Rob Brander comments on the video for Juliet:
The video became an extension of the album’s artwork concept, where we built a large metal frame and hung up colourful shapes, designed and created by our long-time friend and collaborator Liv Hodder. On the album cover, the shapes loosely replicate the constellation Ursa Major. Phil had the wild idea of taking elements of the album artwork and shooting in an array of locations, in and around Leeds, that are synonymous with the band.
Ursa Major artwork & tracklisting
- Introduction
- Juliet
- Sleep Start
- Dr Jekyll
- Summery In Angus
- Interlude I
- Evie
- Someone Else’s Touch
- These Days
- Interlude II (William’s Poem)
- Can I Stay Here Forever (pt. II)
- Interlude III
- Blood In My Eye
- Sunday
- Leave Me Outside
- Should’ve Been There
Commenting on new single Juliet and the album’s title, singer James Newbigging explains:
The song really helped me contextualise what we were doing for the album. The album title ‘Ursa Major’ comes from this track. There’s a line “It’s time for a curtsy, Ursa Major” which is kind of tongue-in-cheek, like the album is introducing itself saying: “Right. Here we go. I’m the album. Now enjoy, and let me take a fucking bow”. I’m just glad we ended up calling the album ‘Ursa Major’ so it made sense…
The quartet have also announced a run of UK headline shows for October 2020 (Tickets here). The tour includes stops in London, Glasgow and Manchester as well as a homecoming show in Leeds. Support comes from Deco and Sad Boys Club. Full dates can be found below this post.
Marsicans October UK tour dates
- Oct 14 – Aberdeen Tunnels
- Oct 15 – Glasgow King Tut’s
- Oct 17 – Manchester Gorilla
- Oct 21 – Bristol Thekla
- Oct 22 – London Scala
- Oct 24 – Leeds Beckett University
On top of all that, they boys have been invited to play SXSW festival this March where they will play several events including the official BBC Introducing Stage. The full run-down of SXSW shows will be announced shortly.
With their debut album Ursa Major only a few months away, 2020 promises to be an exciting year for Marsicans.