Happy Women’s History Month! In honor of all of the strong “nasty women” out there, every album review that is posted on Indientry for the month of March will feature daring females. Check out the full list here!
Exuding a sort of quiet confidence, Marie Corbo and Noah Demland – AKA Corbezzolo – create an unexpectedly fierce rock duo. In fact, other musicians in the scene look up to Corbezzolo for their confidence and ease on the stage, empowering themselves and others. Of course, as I learned this through my project’s interviews, I also realized that I’d have to write about their latest album, Midnight, because countless musicians recommended it to me.
Each of the seven songs on this too-short album has a distinctive sound, despite a familiar dark tint running throughout. Corbo’s strong voice cuts through driving percussion and rhythmic bass, whether the song is mellow or faster-paced. The overall vibe is an interesting blend of ferocity and dreaminess. To put it simply, the band’s Bandcamp describes them as “melodic + ferocious” and I can’t think of a better pairing of adjectives for these two.
I have too much to say about this album and not enough space to say it in, so I’ll try to be brief. On one hand, you have songs that are more chill, like Midnight with its eerie, ethereal power and lyrics like, “black as night/cold as ice”. On the other are ferocious tracks, like Hey Corbo‘s upbeat jamming power and effortlessly confident vocal repetition of, “things will be beautiful” and “there will be diamond skies”. The whole thing comes together to form a surprisingly cohesive alt-rock album that gives you chills with its strange, otherworldly power.
Of course, no song is created equal – my personal favorite, Today, begins on a surprisingly chill note before building in both energy and speed throughout the rest of the song. Before you realize what’s happening, the choruses are high-energy, yet not frantic, and the initial picture of a foggy night is dissipating to give way to something a little more intense.
My older brother is rarely wrong when he suggests a band for me to listen to – and this is certainly no exception. His opinion was reinforced when Sierra Mollenkopf, lead singer of First Responder, mentioned in an interview how much she loves Marie’s stage presence.
Of course, after listening to this album, I had to ask Corbezzolo to be involved with my mysterious interview project… Keep an eye out for updates on that, and in the meantime, check out Corbezzolo. If you’ve already listened to this album, what did you think? Tell me about it in the comments!
Originally published on Indientry on March 16, 2017.
Note: This article was updated on May 17, 2020, to include appropriate photo and album art credit.
Abby Jeffers 