Freshly Pressed – MARBLE “Bleed Me Out”

Seattle/Portland-based indie duo MARBLE have just released their third single, “Bleed Me Out” – a dreamy post rock song with an almost cinematic appeal. Emotional vocals and a musical intensity help to tell the story of “what happens when fear drives you to cling to what is comfortable at the expense of what is good”. We caught up with singer/guitarist Chantel Bailey to chat about the song, MARBLE’s songwriting process, and her deserted island album picks.

From The Strait: Tell us about the new single, “Bleed Me Out”.

Chantel: I  like to say bleed me out is the closest I’ll ever get to writing a love song.

This song was born after one long evening spent around the fire pit at my childhood home. a great love had lived and died, ultimately without resolution. It was time to put it to rest.

Intimate relationships have the power to illuminate all the parts of yourself that are unhealed. This is what makes them beautiful and transformative. but without a safe, self-reflective space to heal, this unveiling can also breed a deep level of hurt and resentment.

Bleed me out is about love, grief, self-sacrifice, and exhaustion in the shadow of a decades-long relationship. It’s about what happens when fear drives you to cling to what is comfortable at the expense of what is good. it’s a call to surrender when the most loving thing you can do is to let go.

FTS: What first made you want to become a musician? Was it a song, an artist, or just an undeniable pull to make music?

Chantel:  I didn’t grow up with much as a kid, but one thing my parents always made sure I had was a musical instrument. My dad had a knack for finding them at garage sales and fixing them up. A lot of things seemed out of reach at that time, but music never was. Growing up in a hyper conservative evangelical church, music helped me process things I didn’t know how to think about, much less talk about. My older brother was my first big musical influence. We’d spend hours in the basement working on songs and he’d burn me CDs that my parents would have never allowed me to listen to. He was in a prog rock band for years, I still love to listen to his old records. With all those things combined, I think becoming a musician was just sort of inevitable.

FTS: Every band has their own way of creating songs – what is your songwriting process like?

Chantel:  It’s kind of a mess, if I’m being honest. I’m still figuring it out. Lyrics & melodies will come to me at inconvenient times. Like when I’m out on a walk, or when I’m having a conversation with someone. I’m not a particularly skilled guitar player, so for me, it’s more about observing my body, emotions, & my surroundings at different moments, carving out space to listen, and then having the patience to figure out how to play what I’m hearing in my head. Matthew & I have learned how to collaborate by working on our own, then passing what we’ve made off to the other person; and round and round it goes until it feels right.

FTS: What do you hope that listeners take away from your music? How do you hope they feel after listening?

Chantel: I hope our music helps people process things that are hard to explain, like religious trauma, shame, and feeling isolated. A lot of the emotional content of the music is heavy and difficult, but it’s also full of self-forgiveness and hope. I want listeners to be left with those feelings; not in spite of the tough stuff, but because of it.

FTS: If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only have 5 albums with you, what would they be?

Chantel: You can’t even do me the small mercy of giving me an iPod Shuffle? Fine, I’ll play your sick game. I spent most of my life really only listening to male musicians, so lately I’ve been on a treasure hunt for great female/femme/non-binary leads.

So in that spirit, here are a few of my recent favorites:
Wolf Alice – Blue Weekend
Great Grandpa – Four of Arrows
St Vincent – Strange Mercy
Death Parade – It Was Worth It To Love Though It Hurt So Bad
Indigo De Souza – Any Shape You Take

Check out the latest single from Marble, “Bleed Me Out”!