Retrospective Reviews: Attack In Black's 'Marriage'

Back in 2007, most of the world was recovering from the death of fictitious mobster Tony Soprano, trying to protect their kids from nude photos of their beloved High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens, or playing with Steve Jobs’ new technological gizmo known as the “iPhone”. But in a small town in southern Ontario, thousands of teenagers were dealing with a mutual angst through a local music scene that seemed to be going nowhere. That is, until a local band’s debut album gave them a sense of hope.

Welland, Ontario, really isn’t home to much of anything — besides harboring a canal that nobody cares about anymore. It’s really just a place to drink beer and eat great pizza (world class if you ask me). But in 2007, my fellow Wellander’s and I were able to bask in the successes of a local rock band known as Attack In Black. After gathering a dedicated following in the local scene and touring the west coast of Canada, Spencer Burton, Ian Kehoe, and brothers Ian and Daniel Romano hit the studio to record their debut album Marriage. Consisting of alt-rock anthems like “Broken Things” and “The Love Between You and I”, the album was an instant hit in the band’s hometown and the areas surrounding it (the album's release was met with a sold out show at Toronto bar The Horseshoe Tavern).

Marriage begins with an upbeat punk-rock punch in the form of opening song “Come What May”. With rustic guitar licks, a catchy chorus, and a tight horn break, the song acts as the perfect appetizer to possibly the biggest song on the album, local anthem “Young Leaves”. To this day, the songs’ introductory guitar track is met with nothing but cheers and excitement from any Welland crowd. On top of that, it even made a few appearances on Much Music Countdown (take it easy it was a big deal at the time). But despite the local support that surrounds “Young Leaves”, I can’t help but be more impressed by the albums’ secondary tracks.

Take a song like “Inches and Ages” for instance; by combining a vintage country feel with a hard-rock exterior, the song demonstrates the band’s most impressive songwriting talents. A few minutes later, the folk rock aesthetic of “Footprints” offers some much needed variety to an album that is predominantly hard-nosed (a delicately placed piano outro also helps darken the mood). The most impressive song of the entire album however has to be “If All I Thought Were True”. With a dulcet, yet doleful vibe, the song’s poetically impactful lyricism surpasses that of any other on the album.

Though it may not have lasted in the musical spotlight as long as some of the other albums we’ve retrospectively reviewed, Marriage’s significance derives from its ability to act as the life soundtrack to every pissed-off teenager in the Niagara region - and by giving a town that is often referred to as the “armpit” of Ontario something to be proud of, Attack In Black’s debut album was an eminent success.

Adam Lalama is a writer living in London, Ontario. He's on Twitter.