“Newborn Fossil” by Marcus: The Apex Predator! – A Raucous Return from Detroit’s Sonic Outliers
- GRAHAM
- 23 hours ago
- 3 min read
Seven years after their blistering debut “The Fury Of Almost,” Detroit’s own Marcus: The Apex Predator!, storms back into the fold with “Newborn Fossil,” an EP that embraces chaos and clarity in equal measure. Fronted by guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter Kevin Watts, the trio reunites Float Here Forever alumni Nick Marko on drums and brings in Sean Bondareff (Kind Beast) on bass for this five-track post-hardcore whirlwind. Recorded and mixed by Jake Shives and mastered by Grammy-winner Dave Feeny at Tempermill Studios, this EP is a return to form and an evolution, unruly, noisy, and refreshingly unpolished in just the right ways.
The EP opens with its title track, “Newborn Fossil,” an urgent, grinding rocker that announces the band’s reemergence with a clenched fist and a crooked grin. Angular riffs slice through the air like shattered glass while Watts’s vocals oscillate between wounded sincerity and ragged intensity. It’s a track that teeters between the melodic and the explosive, precisely where Marcus: The Apex Predator! shines brightest. There’s a rawness that feels deliberate, like they’re not just playing music but trying to wrestle it into shape. This opening salvo sets the tone for the EP’s tense interplay between restraint and release.
“Lo-Fi” dials things back slightly, with a more reflective and emotive approach, conjuring up a sense of overcast nostalgia. While still grounded in post-hardcore grit, there’s a tenderness bleeding through its jagged edges, showcasing the band’s emotional range. In contrast, “The First Summer” feels like an audio scrapbook of sunlit distortion, hazy memories, and subtly anthemic overtones. It carries a bittersweet ache underneath its shimmering guitar textures, offering one of the EP’s most approachable moments without compromising the band’s punk ethos.
The momentum surges again with “Plenty & Shine,” a jagged joyride of off-kilter riffs and gleeful sonic abrasion. Here, the trio leans into their quirky tendencies with abandon, creating a sound that feels unruly and purposeful. There’s something charmingly unhinged about how the track clatters along, like a runaway shopping cart down a steep hill, but it works. The basslines rumble with swagger while the drums pound with a loose, kinetic energy. This is Marcus: The Apex Predator! at their most fun and unfiltered.
But as the EP closes with “No Fraction,” some of the earlier magic begins to fray. While still packed with wild guitar energy and plenty of snarling momentum, the track feels more like a repetition of earlier ideas than a natural endpoint. The quirkiness that once felt fresh begins to edge toward fatigue, with the track’s density overwhelming rather than thrilling. It’s a slightly uneven finish to an otherwise strong and dynamic project, suggesting that while the band thrives in unpredictability, they might benefit from tightening their thematic focus just a notch.
Ultimately, “Newborn Fossil” is a loud, eccentric, and unapologetically gritty return for Marcus: The Apex Predator!, a band that refuses to smooth its edges for the sake of polish. Their ability to exist in the “in-between,” balancing chaos with melody and aggression with reflection, continues to set them apart in the indie/post-hardcore sphere. While not every moment lands perfectly, the EP reasserts their unique voice in the Detroit scene and leaves us hopeful for what fossil might be dug up next.
