Marni, the solo project of Nicolas Lara, has largely been a mode of self-expression for the singer/songwriter, via acoustic folk jams—but just like everything else in the music industry, Marni has changed over these past few years.
Whiskey Girl is the latest release from Lara—a longtime Coachella Valley musician who just moved to Los Angeles—and it is an explosion of full-band-driven, dreamy indie. After the sonically interesting intro “Emeryville,” the EP/album (we’ll get to that later) kicks off strong with “Airhead,” a slow-burning emotionally dreamy track that’s perfect for a late-night drive or the end credits of a coming-of-age flick. “Manic” sees Marni honing some of his acoustic-folk roots in his new indie style, while “Merry Go Round” combines electronic drums with slide guitar as the song heads for an explosive finale jam. Listen for yourself at alaraa.bandcamp.com.
During a recent phone interview with Lara, we discussed whether he considered the seven-track release an EP or an album.
“At first, I was considering it an EP, just because it was six songs and then the intro track,” Lara said. “I really like when artists have intro tracks to their albums or EPs or whatever, so I just made that one (“Emeryville”) in the car on GarageBand really quickly. I just wanted it to be something really weird and dumb … something that somebody will listen to and be, like, ‘Oh, this is kind of weird,’ and then skip to the next track. I don’t really care what people call it, to be honest. I call it both sometimes, an EP or short album.”
Whiskey Girl is impressive beyond being Marni’s first foray into full-band-oriented music.
“When I first started writing under the name Marni, I was influenced by a lot of things at the time,” Lara said. “My influences were very broad, and the genre that I was going for ranged from folk to ’80s new wave. … It was a whole bunch of different genres. For Whiskey Girl, I definitely was influenced by a certain sound. I went into it wanting a certain sound for a band. I think it shows some progression, for sure, because the sound is a lot more cohesive than it’s ever been.
“I’ve had bands and stuff before; they’ve always just been my friends’ (bands). I’ve never had a legit band that’s stayed the same people for one or more shows. My lineups have always changed. The music that I was listening to at the time was full band music with drums, guitar, bass and vocals. I really wanted to take a shot at that and really do it the right way and put some effort into it. … I wanted to come out to L.A., meet new friends and form a band. I was kind of envisioning all that while I was making those songs.”
Lara said he was pleasantly surprised by the L.A. music scene.
“It’s a lot more close-knit than I thought it would be,” Lara said. “The Coachella Valley scene is very tight-knit, and everybody knows everybody. It’s very easy to get shows with people, and it’s just a community that supports each other. … Coming from that tight-knit community, I was very nervous and afraid that it would not be that way—but it’s actually just like it. The people who I’ve met out here, and the connections that I’ve formed with friends and stuff, are pretty cool. It just surprised me how well people support each other and how much everyone really does know each other out here. I’m really excited to be a part of this new scene and to really get that going.”
Whiskey Girl features emotionally driven tempos and guitar tones, and lyrics with themes of isolation and inferiority.
“I think most of the songs are written with a similar mood,” Lara said. “They’re all written from that perspective of someone looking inward at themselves and kind of analyzing who they are and their life. All of the songs besides the intro song and ‘Merry Go Round’ were written during the pandemic. It’s about realizing a lot of things about one’s self that are both good and bad, and just analyzing that and trying to come to terms with that.”
The pandemic certainly brought out a lot of those aforementioned emotions for many. Writing Whiskey Girl was a beneficial experience for Lara.
“Putting it all out on paper and just, like, getting it out there, I think, helps,” Lara said. “The recording process for me is super-fun and exciting. It’s good to get that feeling out on paper and to express that emotion, and then also, from there, have fun and get the recording done.”
Whiskey Girl was a collaboration between Lara, Nicholas Noble and Bennett Littlejohn.
“I was in a band with (Nicholas) in high school, and when I started writing Marni stuff and going out on my own thing, he was just learning how to record on Ableton,” Lara said. “Anything I’ve ever put out, he’s put out, and he’s been a longtime producer, co-writer and collaborator with Marni. He’s definitely the man behind the scenes, and we recorded it all together at his house, then sent it to my friend Bennett. He helped bring it to life a little bit more, because he plays (a lot of instruments) on the record, and then Nick plays all the drums on the record.”
Bringing the songs to life with a real band was a daunting experience for the longtime solo singer/songwriter.
“At first, I was really nervous, because I hadn’t played in front of anyone in a while, and I haven’t shown anyone anything in a while,” Lara said. “… Everyone in the band loves to play the songs, and it’s been a lot easier than I thought it would be. I think the songs translate live really well. It’s fun to go from most of my life playing solo or doing that kind of thing, now to being in a band.”
Lara also spends time in the semi-local band Garb. In Garb, Lara plays guitar on songs that are mostly written by the vocalist and drummer. In Marni, things are reversed.
“(In Garb), I have a lot of time to really just sit back, be a guitar player, and kind of see what it is like to be in a band, and see everyone’s position in the band—how we all collaborate with each other and how it all meshes well,” he said. “Taking that experience into Marni has definitely helped me a lot.”
I <3 Marni
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