Etta Marcus – ‘Devour’ EP review: A turn to the dark side
Etta Marcus’ second EP, Devour, is a meal of two halves. Marcus’s sly, slick, and sensuous songwriting lures you to take a bite, but, from the confines of her jaw, her prowling perspective shifts, turning predator into prey.
The Skinny: As her first body of work since 2024’s mini album, The Death of Summer & Other Promises, Marcus has evidently turned to harsher influences, rougher and tougher to swallow. The grittier guitars echo her own shifting view on love.
“Love is violence where you’re almost sacrificing yourself,” so Marcus says of the project. “I was seeing myself as this Pearl-like character with an axe, either hunting down others or being devoured myself.”
Marcus opens with two singles, ‘Teenage Messiah’ and ‘Girls Are God’s Machines’. The former has a stripped-back, Blondshell-esque guitar line with the type of grand, universalising chorus that hits doubly once the drums are layered through. Marcus keeps things from getting boring with a surprising, distorted, “Run run little Piggy” refrain. She follows up the ballad with the racing ‘Girls Are God’s Machines’, almost theatrical in the heavy rhyme and frequent monosyllables.
It is in the second half of the EP that Marcus comes into her own. “I knew a boy who got away with murder / but then a boy who didn’t seem to mind,” she sings on ‘Lucky Lady’, eventually asking, “What’s wrong with a good time?”. The hoppy, heavy drumbeat elevates the expansive smoothness of her vocals. Later, she slips into a slithering bridge, after using distorted vocals akin to those on Jeff Buckley’s ‘Grace’. It’s a near-perfect track, playing with strings of mystique, mystery, and mischief.
Influences such as Nirvana and PJ Harvey are sonically evident throughout and are a welcome addition to her discography. Although at times, Marcus takes a more formulaic approach on the project, like on the third track ‘Pointing At The Moon Staring At Your Hand’ and lead single ‘Slaughterhouse’.
The verdict: Etta Marcus follows up an impressive discography with gorgeous ballads, barking anthems, and powerhouse vocals that prosper over grunge-influenced, though sometimes overly formulaic, music. Devour surely puts her in conversation with the likes of Sarah Kinsley, Blondshell, and NewDad.
Defining Song: ‘Lucky Lady’
Release date: October 31st | Producer: Josh Scarbrow | Label: Polydor
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