Indie Rock Icon Brian Halloran’s New Album, Marauder (That Was Once Joy)

Marauder (That Was Once Joy) is the seventh full-length album from singer/songwriter Brian Halloran, adding to a musical legacy we’re lucky to enjoy. Whether you remember when music was routinely written by an actual human with the years of lived experience to boot, or just dipping your toes into artists who have a discography gathering the years like a fine wine, this record is another installation of worthy repute in Brian Halloran’s tastefully diverse and enthralling expressions of rich textures and damned great ways of pulling off his own voice like never heard before.

The opening track glowed with the fire in his blood, bringing serious heat on “The Feeling” as Brian Halloran’s instruments melt poetically into the next element, much like each of the fourteen tracks that follow. Throughout the album, songs like “Kind,” “Fool in October,” and “Contrition” fill out the body that is Marauder (That Was Once Joy) to be the introspective, guitar-rich and explorative collection of work.

Kind

Second on the record, “Kind” is a track about where Brian Halloran says he “wants to be known for being kind.” Snappy and hooking lyrics like “Turn my cheek until snap my neck” are an honest examination of what it means to be kind in a world where it will absolutely hurt and cost you. Backing vocals from Rodney Flood and Kacie Sky transcend that meaning into a softer touch on a tougher subject to tackle, landing a genuine and sincere obstinacy in the face of isolation and disappointment in a cruel world. It’s admittedly self-reporting on not being perfect, but that’s part of the charm that carries over to such a warm, in-the-ballpark sound somewhere between the stylings of Tom Petty and Cloud Cult.

Lighthouse Head

“Lighthouse Head” taps into a raw, emotional space, channeling a grit-and-spit style of songwriting and guitar playing reminiscent of Julien Baker. Needless to say, it catches the penchant taste for a strong singer-songwriter. The track anchors its introspective weight around striking imagery, capturing the quiet realization of internal isolation with lines like, “I know everything was only ever here in my lighthouse head, / Low cause I know / How the waves broke / and the shift they left.” 

Trying to Write the Movie

“Trying to Write the Movie” shifts the energy into a hyped-up, groove-heavy territory that feels reminiscent of David Byrne tackling heavier topics over bright, pocket-driven instrumentation. In that way, it shares a bloodline of sorts with the vibrant yet melancholic energy of Paramore’s After Laughter record. Musically, it is built on bright counter-melodies of dreamy synths layered over pleasantly jagged guitar rhythms, anchored by a playful dance between the drums and bass that never overstates itself, instead serving as a perfect framework for the melodies to ping-pong across. Lyrically, it chases the bittersweet illusion of a scripted romance: “I’m trying to write the movie, to contrive the perfect ending / Where you choose me / like it’s always been / it’s just myself I’m fooling / who falls in love like this? / who falls apart like this?”

Contrition

Of special note is the song “Contrition,” co-written and performed with renowned singer/songwriter Jes Hudak (whose single “Different Worlds” has over 5 million streams on Spotify alone). Jes’s vocals are an absolute delight, offering a wonderful contrast to Brian’s delicious crooning and its slight rugged bite. The track serves as a heavy-hearted reflection on never meaning to “be this way” and missing out, featuring sharp lyrical turns and a clever nod to the album’s central theme: “Are we travelers? / Are we checkpoints? / Are we each the other’s white noise? / Am I the great offender? / Marauder on a bender?”

Radio

Instrumentally, “Radio” feels like the beginning of a dream sequence from a warm yesteryear coming to visit during an afternoon doze, evoking a contemporary mix of something 90s amidst the modern textures of folk rock. Though Grey Revell is credited as the songwriter, Brian Halloran delivers it with a lived-in authenticity that makes the storytelling feel intensely personal. Blending provocative storytelling with an effortless swagger. Lyrics unique yet relatable carry a striking narrative that isn’t easy to put down: “She said stay away from cousins / they’ll try to take you in the closet / I said stay away from Christians / Cause they think God has open season / Then I laugh and say I’m teasing.” Then comes the song’s stride with the memorable hook that speaks to an overarching theme, “Think the good girls know where I’m coming from / But the bad girls keep my radio on.”

Other favorites like “Fool in October” offer golden nuggets of wisdom in the face of the album’s themes around the passage of time, with lyrics like, “For such a young thing, why would you play yourself? For such a young thing, salt the ground, the spot you fell, best, buddy, not to dwell.”

The album has only been out since October 22nd of this year, but is already presenting itself as a timeless and nearly instant indie rock classic. There are echoes of both lyrical and instrumental elements reminiscent of The Decemberists and The National, all while Brian Halloran transmutes his harsh coals of experience into the diamonds that will outshine the time it took to endure the pressures and demands of time.

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