Mardi Gras - Sandcastle (2024) Hi-Res

If the reward from reviewing music comes from unraveling and exploring what goes into a sound, then it is bands like Mardi Gras that I most look forward to getting under the pen. It would be easy to describe them just as a dark and deliciously infused type of rock, but that would be to skim the surface of their sonic waters and miss the absolute joy of navigating their musical depths. So why not join me for a swim, as it were?

“The Dance of The Sand,” which kicks things off, tells us much about what is to follow, as opening songs often do. Here, we find a neat blend of hard rock and classical orchestration, symphonic vibes, and dark undercurrents. And that would be enough for some bands to base a whole album, perhaps even an entire career, on. But it is what else Mardis Gras throws into the mix that keeps you guessing, keeps things interesting, and keeps things un-second-guessable.

“Cinematic” is big, bold, and bombastic, grounding the band in a recognizable classic rock sound, and by contrast, songs such as “After The Fire” weave more pop tones and acoustic textures through the sound into a piano-driven anthemic ballad.

But songs such as “Stop The Presses” really move the sound forward, a sound clash of forward-thinking nu-metal vibes and symphonic sonics, gothic adventure and sweeping majesty, electronica and analog working hand in hand.

And lyrically, the album is impressive, too. It’s not so much a concept album but certainly one that follows a defined sonic narrative that plays out through the eight songs, enabling them to be taken in their own right but much more meaningful if you consider them chapters in a sonic book.

Sandcastle is quite an achievement, a deft story put to dynamic music, music that takes in the eloquence and elegance of the orchestral world as well as the power and poignancy of the hard rock realm and then explores everything in between.