The Sea & The Beast

Orlando, Florida's Band Marino is an up and coming indie-rock band with a diverse array of influences, ranging from early indie rock, all the way to folk. Their debut album, The Sea & The Beast, is a rather impressive collection of songs with clever arrangements and quirky instrumentation. Although The Sea & The Beast is Band Marino's first release, their songs sound like the work of veteran musicians that have been honing their craft for years.

The Sea & The Beast begins with "American Patriot," a rather straight-ahead song, in contrast with the rest of the album; it immediately grabs the listener's attention with a verse that builds up into a catchy guitar lead. "Someday We All Must Die" is an excellent song that builds up into a powerful and haunting conclusion, with a harmonized chant of the title of the song accompanied by an ominous guitar melody faintly playing in the background. The interesting aspect of Band Marino's songs is that most of them conclude in a completely different manner than they began; each of their songs are like a journey through various tempos and styles.

Overall, Band Marino has a very unique sound and created a fine album in The Sea & The Beast. Band Marino seem to have a knack for writing catchy, yet smart music and despite being a newer band, their songs sound like the work of composers with years of experience.