Pop rock band Marianas Trench coming to Philly | The Triangle

Pop rock band Marianas Trench coming to Philly

Canadian pop-rock band Marianas Trench is making their way to Philadelphia May 1 at the Theater of The Living Arts.

Marianas Trench is a band that focuses on the creation of their albums. Even though mainstream music has turned to single-releases and putting songs out as they are written, Marianas Trench sticks to the same style they have been using since 2001.

Their genre of music would best be described as pop-rock with a lot of influence from Queen and Beach Boy according to the band’s bassist, Mike Ayley.

The band releases a new album about every three years — an oddity in the world of music. Josh Ramsay, the band’s lead vocalist, also does the majority of their writing. They’re focused on perfecting each and every song and making sure every note and beat is exactly right. They contemplate and explore the song until it is perfect.

One of the reasons why it is so hard to pin down the band’s style is because they are more focused on going for a vibe, according to Ayley.

They are hardly focused on producing individual hits. They want their albums to be works of art. On their most recent album, “Phantoms,” they have a song that runs for one minute, and another that runs for almost seven. Their previous album, “Astoria,” was produced with a sequence of instrumental breaks parceled throughout the album to enhance the listening experience across all 17 tracks.

They do release singles, but they tend to be more pop-y than the rest of their albums. The other songs they produce are a lot less structured. Each song is layered with harmonies — the kind of song that you know will be good live.

The band has been putting out albums for about 15 years, but they are hardly aging out. Their fan base keeps on growing and their current tour is set to be the most attended one they have done in the United States. Big-city shows, like New York City and Seattle, sold out more than three months in advance.

“I’d like to keep going down the path we are on, which is putting out these albums that we are proud of, expanding our creative window,” Ayley said.

By continuously challenging themselves, focusing on the music and staying with what feels right rather than sticking to a specific sound, they are encouraged and motivated to keep producing new content.

This philosophy is what has kept fans around for so long. It is also what draws people into the band in the first place because first-time listeners can go through their albums and get such a wide range of content from the same set of voices.

Even though their newest album is a bit darker,  almost gothic, Marianas Trench has kept some of the same material they have been playing for years in the tracks. They overlay lyrics and melodies from their older songs in new tracks. It keeps their material centralized.

Long-time fans of Marianas Trench know that the three-year wait for an album, although long, is always worth it. The band somehow always creates a completely new vibe and experience for their listeners, but without straying from the sound that their fans know and love.

By keeping their old songs a part of their new albums in the same way that a patch would be sewn into a quilt, it is hard to be disappointed by their new content. The contrast is so fascinating in their albums, most recently, “Wish You Were Here” (pop-y) and “The Killing Kind” (unstructured) are two great examples of the variety that Marianas Trench is known for.

You won’t want to miss Marianas Trench’s show in Philadelphia May 1.