New Zealand’s Marlin’s Dreaming soothe the heart and stir the soul on their fourth album ‘HIRL,’ a dreamy, tranquil alternative record that embraces deep grooves, lush soundscapes, and spellbinding melodies in order to craft an utterly smoldering, seductive, and spellbinding experience.

for fans of Wilco, The Strokes, Lucero

Stream: “Lucky Star” – Marlin’s Dreaming

Is it fitting, or a cop-out, to say that Marlin’s Dreaming’s new album feels… dreamy?

Perhaps the real answer is a little bit of both, but either way, the shoe absolutely fits; there is a warmth, a resonance, a gentleness, and a drive to the New Zealand band’s fourth record that soothes the heart and stirs the soul. It’s a relaxed sentiment, as much as it is a resonant sound: Tranquil and charged, charming and churning, HIRL enchants and enthralls as Marlin’s Dreaming embrace deep grooves, lush soundscapes, and spellbinding melodies – crafting a smoldering, seductive alternative rock reverie, and in fact a whole world, that is theirs and theirs alone.

Am I in or am I out?
I’ve never really tried it out
People come and people go
The feeling is escaping me now
And the people, they just look away
It could be yes, it could be no
I couldn’t help but feel it go
The crime is not that we’re all fake
The crime is that we give and take
And take, and take, and take, and take
And take, and take, and take, and take

How’d we come this far?
If I ever let another lay a finger
Upon my lucky charm
Oh, you burst through the ceiling
with my head in your arms
How’d we come this far?
If I ever let another lay a finger
On you

– “Lucky Star,” Marlin’s Dreaming

Released August 16, 2024 via Ditto Music, HIRL is a cathartic breath of fresh air from one of New Zealand’s most exciting indie outfits to emerge over the past decade. Arriving three long – and decidedly transformative – years after 2021’s third LP Hasten, Marlin’s Dreaming’s fourth album finds the alternative quartet of Semisi Ma’ia’i (vocals & guitar), Oscar Johns (bass), Hamish Morgan (drums), and De Stevens (guitar) striking a breathtaking sonic balance between the “alternative” and “pop” music worlds – imbuing the heavy, decidedly dark and grungy sounds of their last two albums with brighter, more lightweight instrumentation and arrangements that bounce, sparkle, and shine.

The band consider their new record one of change, inner (and outer) transformation – tracking personal growth as well as their own physical movement, from their home territory of Dunedin to New Zealand’s bustling capital of Auckland. Perhaps it’s that environmental change that led the band to harness softer textures; to let a little more ambience, and a lot more light, into their music. Whatever the case may be, HIRL‘s eleven songs find the Kiwi four-piece deep in a space of intimate introspection, contemplation, and human connection with every song offering offering insight into persistent (and universally relatable) questions of purpose, presence, place, and being. “Earnestly, there are times when I’m lost and lonely,” the band wonder aloud in lead single “Earnestly” (which features fellow New Zealand singer/songwriter Erny Belle). “Earnestly, do you think we will die alone do you, anyway… ’cause there something I gotta know: Do you feel the things that I don’t?“

It’s just one of many times that Marlin’s Dreaming relax, let go, and lean into vulnerability – a creative choice that pays off in spades throughout HIRL‘s runtime.

well I’ll be fine
my growing sense of entitlement
is towing me ashore
there’s always something
that I have to go and say

– “My Horizon,” Marlin’s Dreaming

“This record has been three years in the making,” Semisi Ma’ia’i tells Atwood Magazine. “It’s felt like a marathon for all of us involved. It started and stopped so many times, and while that workflow wasn’t intentional, I think it ended up working in our favour. We’d record some demos, then not talk for a month, then listen back, organise a catch-up, and chat about them. Maybe we’d set a date to record more or re-record some, but most likely not. This workflow continued through 2022 and 2023 until the end of 2023, when we all made a big effort to knuckle down and work hard to finish the album.”

“The end result includes a lot of subtle little percussive elements, and other weird textures that were recorded years after the original skeletons were put to tape – details that, I think, give the record its unique sound. Our last record was very sad, lonely record, a real introspective piece that now and again lent itself to grungy garage guitars and dissonant chord structures. But I think by the time we finished up with that record, I felt a real shift in my songwriting towards major chords and pop melodies. I think this record for us as a band was about embracing happiness and positive energy within the music, and really delving deep into the production of the songs, trying to make everything sound slick and polished.”

Ma’ia’i describes HIRL as a happy, sleepy, and sad record. “‘HIRL’ is an onomatopoeia word for a gust of wind,” he says of the title itself. “I imagine it as a wind rustling through trees or brushing against the windows of an idling car.”

The same wind that wakes you up and refreshes your soul can be the one that chills you to the bone, and it feels like, intentionally or not, Marlin’s Dreaming captured multiple sides of their own identity in this collection of songs.

“It’s a new sound for us; I’d say the closest in feeling would be our first album from 2017,” Ma’ia’i reflects, comparing their latest LP to previous releases. “For me, this feels like we’ve emerged from under a grungy rug. We’ve swapped out the angular electric guitar riffs and washy, granular layers for bright, dreamy synths, piano, and clean guitar sounds. We really wanted to embrace vocal clarity, strong songwriting, and polished production. It’s been a great experience not worrying about being too indie or burying melodies that might have felt corny a couple of years ago. We’ve been really inspired by country music, a shift that started during Hasten and has continued to evolve in HIRL.”

“There’s a real difference in production, too – a bright, crystal-clear vocal treatment and a clear discernment of instruments with group attention to detail,” he adds. “The playing is less rugged and more metronomic. I actually think this album captures our artistry better from a technical standpoint. There are many layers and forms of artistry, and when you’re reviewing the songs, you always wonder if you’re sacrificing certain things for technical correctness. But we tried to strike a balance.”

Hello my dear
I must have drawn a blank
I’ve been awhile away for too long
Hello my dear
I’ve fallen through the cracks
And it’s a world I do not know anymore

I’ll fly away
To a different place than I’m used to
I’ll try and hide
In a desperate way I’m lost

Highlights abound on the journey from the cinematic meditation “Hello My Dear,” with its hearty, full, and punchy sound, to the gentle (yet nonetheless dramatic) closer, “Watching All the People,” which ends the album with a sense of tenderness, warmth, and residual angst lingering on the backdrop of heavy, hard-won catharsis. HIRL is a true sonic journey worth its weight in gold – and one that deserves to be heard and felt in full, so while singles like “Lucky Star” and “Earnestly” prove themselves faithful teasers of the album’s overall sound, tracks like “Every Single Time,” “Samoa,” and “The Enemy” shine just as bright in the context of the greater 41-minute experience.

“I think my favourite song on the record would be ‘Samoa,’” Ma’ia’i smiles. “I love the feeling that’s created with the piano and acoustic, and all the weaving of the acoustic picking with the vocal layers, the percussive elements. It has that slick, but human element where you can tell everything is played because it’s not perfect, but we’re all in sync with each other and the mix and master sonically just makes it fly.”

He also cites the track “Country Plains” as home to one of his favorite lines, but cautions that for him, Marlin’s Dreaming’s lyrics all feel most ‘at home’ in their respective songs. “I find them all to be quite naked outside of the music,” he admits. “Below is a passage that’s sort of reads like a riddle outside of the song. Reading it now, on this page, it’s found new meaning!”

“I feel it for a second
But as soon as it’s there in front of me,
I’m somewhere else
Sitting for a minute, or a year
My perch is hardly cautioned by the days”

A creative, cathartic triumph in its own right, HIRL is proof that Marlin’s Dreaming’s inner flame burns brighter than ever.

The band sound calm and confident, at home and in their element; having tightened up their (already tight) sound and softened up their instrumental approach, each of their record’s eleven tracks breathes with a light of its own, making this record all too easy to spin on repeat for hours and hours on end.

“Honestly, I just hope it’s not a record you only play in your headphones or your bedroom,” Ma’ia’i shares. “I like to think of some of these songs as ones you’d throw on at a party or blast out of your speaker while biking in the park. This marks a bit of a shift in my thinking. A couple of years ago, I might have answered this question quite differently. Now, I just want people to feel good and have fun when they spin the record!”

Experience the full record via our below stream, and peek inside Marlin’s Dreaming’s HIRL with Atwood Magazine as Semisi Ma’ia’i and his bandmates take us track-by-track through the music and lyrics of their fourth album!

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:: stream/purchase HIRL here ::

:: connect with Marlin’s Dreaming here ::

Stream: ‘HIRL’ – Marlin’s Dreaming

:: Inside HIRL ::

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Hello My Dear

This one written and recorded over the course of half a day in my parents house in Wānaka, NZ. An isolated spot at the foot of a towering mountain range. We were all setup in the lounge with the fire roaring away. It felt like a really fitting song to record down there.

Lucky Star

This song was recorded at the end of a really long session at Roundhead Studios in Auckland. We had recorded everything we’d set out to record for that day. We were having a few beers and playing some music in a live setup we had going (I think it was 1am or so). I started with that opening riff, and then the song just flowed from there, I think it took us about 45 minutes to write, fully structure & record this song. Which is wild.

Country Plaines

Country Plaines is the sitting out on the porch and watching life go by song of the album. Except in my case, it was sitting in my bedroom, up in the attic of our flat. There’s this small triangular window there, offering a shard of the Auckland harbour. I wrote and recorded this song by myself to a cassette recorder I have. We ended up re-recording it with the band and changing the feel slightly for the album version.

Earnestly (feat. Erny Belle)

This one is about a dysfunctional relationship where both sides don’t seem to be completely aligned, but at the same time both sides are madly in-love with each-other. There’s a tongue & cheek element to it though, where both narratives are asking flowery, contemplative questions, but to no immediate avail.

Every Single Time

Part of my lineage comes from Samoa. I don’t speak the language fluently but my cousin, Ariel, helped me translate a chorus from English into Samoan. The chorus translates to: The people, they wonder if we will stay true to each other.

My Horizon

I’m really picky & expect a lot from people. I also expect the world out of myself. This song is about that. I think there’s a wry humour in it, if you peel back the layers.

Samoa

This one is really just reminiscing on old times spent skating and surfing with friends when I was younger, and feeling like as I get older, less and less of my friends want to do that sort of stuff anymore, including myself.

Wallpaper

We were close to finishing the record, and were having a scroll through old voice memos & found this song, I think we’d jammed It one night in Dunedin in. 2020. We re-learnt it & kept it really basic & made a conscious decision to focus on the environment we were creating rather than the structure of the song. Because that’s originally how the song came about. This repetition of chords seemed to suit a revolving nature.

The Enemy

I think the only song with heavily dramatic & driven guitar tones on the record. We had a white board with all the chords written out, and this was by far the hardest song to achieve on the album. Thank god we didn’t make every song as complicated as this.

Straight Swung

This was recorded at Chicks Hotel in Dunedin. An establishment steeped in Dunedin Sound history. This song is really influenced by Yo La Tengo – band that I’ve read were really influenced by bands from Dunedin – So there is a weird connection there…

Watching All the People

This song felt too nice and boring, so we sort of messed it up a bit at the end. My reference point when attempting to do it was “Via Chicago” by Wilco. I love it when bands ruin a nice song, I dunno why – it just makes you want to listen to it again.

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:: stream/purchase HIRL here ::

:: connect with Marlin’s Dreaming here ::

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 © Jake Munro

HIRL

an album by Marlin’s Dreaming