"Swamp and Soul" feature in CLICK magazine

by Charles Gray, December 16, 2014, CLICK

Somewhere between the soulful rhythms of Blues City and the enriched melodies of Lafayette is a place with a sound all of its own. It’s not in the MidSouth, nor in Louisiana, but more of a state of mind that blends the two cultures in a mixing pot, full to the brim with music history. Marcella and Her Lovers is a local outfit that lives and thrives in this atmosphere. Singer and songwriter to the lovers, Marcella Simien, is a longtime resident of this aforementioned place and has endearingly coined it “swamp soul.”

“It’s sort of a melding of where I’m from and where I am now,” Simien says. “I love Memphis soul and I grew up surrounded by Zydeco, so it’s kind of a blending of the two together.”

On November 7, the group released its first EP, The Bronze Age, a collection of five tracks thick in tradition, made sleek by a modern edge and now available at marcellaandherlovers.bandcamp.com. The steady rhythmic chug featured on tracks like “We Rewind” is matched by the piano/accordion ballad “Ethel.” The album stays true to its dichotomy of two Southern sounds showcasing a bold aesthetic that was earned over a lifetime. 

Read it here