Track Of The Day: Nun Habit – ‘Marigolds’

A song about eczema, ‘marigolds’ by London five-piece nun habit packs way more of a punch than that description might lead you to expect.

It comes in hard and fast, leaping immediately into a big sound – there’s no gradual build up. Instead, this tightly-structured song is the kind of atmospheric track designed for speakers that make the floor throb. Rich growling bass balances out the shriek of the guitars, interweaving the strings to form an excellent platform for trippy burbling keys.

The low, aching vocals give the song a sense of vulnerability. The lyrics themselves are simple and self-aware, with a lot of feeling in every line and the emotion behind the words is clear. The song drips with anxiety, with exhaustion with toxic-masculine culture; with the resolve to stop caring about the ignorant, judgemental things people say. The vocals draw their power from the lyrics and their grounded tone is uplifted by the roaring music behind them.

There’s a sharp drop part way through; a great use of silence that trips you up, but quickly sweeps you back into the intoxicating sound. This, followed by the abrupt ending, reinforces how well ‘marigolds’ lures you into an entirely different headspace. It sucks you in and spits you out and leaves you wondering where to go for more. (The Kickstarter for their new album hedge fun is a good place to start.)

‘marigolds’ comes with a B-side consisting of a moody house edit by producer Josh Albiston. This version is lighter and slower-paced. It’s spaced out so you can feel more of the texture in the piece. Whilst it’s almost twice as long, it doesn’t feel it. The bright, popping sounds are softer, with gentler drums and vocals that are stripped right back. There’s still a chirpy rhythm to it, but it feels more house party than club dance floor. It fades away until just the throbbing bass line is left; until everything eventually drifts away into silence leaving you, still, eyeing that Kickstarter page.

‘marigolds‘ is out now, ahead of the release of nun habit’s debut album, hedge fun, set for release in August.

Kirstie Summers
@ActuallyKurt