Few labels find new bands that feel like the most comfortable sweater in the world quite like Aqualamb. Part of it is a shockingly fertile music scene in the Rust Belt, but part of it is that it takes a keen ear to know when a band is ripe for the picking. Mors Arma are Cleveland lifers, and it takes listening to their cover of the Shudder To Think classic “X-French T-Shirt” to understand why the label and I see eye to eye on Mors Arma. Their self-titled EP sounds like the best of grunge, noise rock, melodic hardcore, and space rock injected with the kind of verve only seasoned musicians can serve. For the younger crowd, imagine a record of only the melodic Every Time I Die songs or He Is Legend with less LSD and more whiskey, and you’re almost there. This is heavy, lively, and above all a great damn time. Drummer Pat Ginley shares how the crew got together:
“James and I have been in bands together and been friends for a long time. I was in a band with Eric, and we decided to leave that band. It was a great fresh start to something new together. We had a blank canvas to work with and had decided to work on some covers to get more rehearsal under our belt. We’ve always been drawn to that 90’s sound and also all enjoy heavier music as well. ‘X-French T-Shirt’ was always one of the more difficult songs to try and cover, so we really focused on that one mostly for rehearsal, and it came out so well we made it a song at the top of our list. We made a conscious decision to keep our focus on a more aggressive approach the more we rehearsed. Every member contributes whether it’s a riff, part or a whole song, and we take that and make it work with all our individual ideas to contribute. It’s been a really great experience and one of the best bands I’ve ever been in, because of the combined talent and professional work ethic.”
Mors Arma is out now, and you can order it here. Follow Mors Arma on Facebook and Instagram for future updates.
Photo courtesy of Mors Arma
