Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz of Watchhouse stopped by Live & Local this week, following the release of their latest album “Rituals.”
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“Rituals” is the duo’s eighth album, but their first in almost four years. That’s their longest gap between albums, but Frantz and Marlin say they wouldn’t have had it any other way.
“The songs were written a little more slowly, (with) a lot more intention behind each lyric – because all of a sudden it wasn’t me trying to just write an album for the sake of putting an album out,” says Marlin. “Not that we ever did that, but there’s always little elements of that here and there – (but this time) it felt like I could write when I felt like it…(and) I was able to do it on a much slower pace, and in a way that felt true to what I wanted to say.”
The resulting album, with 11 warm, introspective, and inspired tracks, is yet another triumph for a duo that have long established themselves as one of the most beloved and popular bands in Chapel Hill’s storied music history.
But it wasn’t an easy journey to get there.
“The music scene and a music career, they’re not just endeavors,” Marlin says. “It becomes like a relationship. And I think (during) the pandemic, when everything stopped…all of a sudden I felt like this relationship that I’d had for so long was gone. And I didn’t know how to turn to it, and I didn’t know how to trust in it…so it became harder and harder to want to jump back in.”
And for Marlin and Frantz, the pandemic was an especially transformative time: it also coincided with their decision to change the band’s name from Mandolin Orange to Watchhouse – and even more importantly, it also came shortly after they welcomed their first child.
“I remember the first time I saw our daughter: all of a sudden, the person that I was before that moment no longer existed,” Marlin says. “I think that was one of the things that ended up making us slow down, and not feeling like we needed to write (or) be creative: with that perspective shift, with having kids, it was like, what’s more important than that?”
But eventually, Marlin and Frantz say, the songs did come – not in spite of all those changes, but inspired by them.
“I think a lot of (that) is really folded up in this album,” says Frantz. “A lot of these songs were born out of tumultuous years of soul searching and different personal transitions.”
And crucially, Frantz and Marlin weren’t alone: they were guided by an old friend, co-producer Ryan Gustafson of the Dead Tongues.
“He’s one of the first music scene friends that we made back in 2009, around the same time that we met each other,” says Frantz. “We’ve talked a lot about this, but he really did, I think, save this album and save our sanity and our ability to get it out. Because this was a really challenging one for us…we took our time with it, we knew we didn’t need to be in a hurry to put it out, and I think that made it harder to decide when we were finished…
“And (Ryan) was the perfect gentle leader that we needed: (he) has a lot of great musical ideas, but also has a really deep understanding of who we are as musicians and who we are as a band, because he’s known us from the beginning. So that comfort was really crucial for us.”
“Ryan was great,” Marlin adds. “He just kept offering the perspective of: ‘you’re doing this because you love it, and don’t forget that.’ And I think that was a huge help.”
Listen to the album and purchase it on Bandcamp.
Now, Watchhouse is celebrating the album with a nationwide tour, including an already-sold-out stop at Red Rock Amphitheatre and their first west-coast swing in a couple years.
And with two young kids along for the ride, a Watchhouse tour is now a family affair.
“Certainly (that makes) the schedule a little more demanding,” Frantz says, “but it’s really special – and it feels like a cool opportunity for our kids to understand what we do, and the multiple things that give our life meaning.”
And as for that relationship with music?
“It’s a different relationship now,” Marlin says. “But I think it’s a healthier one.”
Emily Frantz and Andrew Marlin stopped by Live & Local to discuss the album and their upcoming tour. They also played three tracks from the new album: “Rituals,” “In the Sun,” and “Shape.” Listen:
Creating New ‘Rituals’: Live and Local with Watchhouse! Chapelboro.com.
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