The tearing apart of love is typically such a dark but soul-driven experience. It hits like a punch in the gut and can happen for any reason, big or small. The one thing that’s for sure is that letting go is an emotional experience. ‘Love and Other Tools’ by Fantastic Mr. Marcel hits this experience on the head with all the emotion and soul necessary to do it right. This track is extremely refined. It shows a deep amount of musical knowledge and skill from all parties involved, and it tells a complete story through both the lyrics and musicality from start to finish. This story-feeling aspect extends through the whole EP that it’s a part of, ‘Practice (Mixtape).’
‘Love and Other Tools’ is a truly captivating and dynamic track that pulls from an eclectic range of influences. There’s so much of a basis on folk and soul, but there are some guitar lines and tones that throw in a bit of a rock sound. It’s super catchy, and there’s such refinement in the instrumentation and vocals. It sounds like there’s just the right mix of electric and acoustic guitar, which both work in much of their wide ranges. The bass and drawn-out vocal lines feed perfectly into the soulful feeling of the track. The vocals work in mainly a baritone sound, but it makes use of a variety of vocal bends, riffs, and belting tones. They capture a sound that’s extremely smooth but have an underlying growl tone in more emotionally charged moments to add just the right twang. The clean production gives the intricate vocal lines lots of room to shine, and it seems to tell a story from start to finish. It’s apparent that both creators behind the project, Fantastic Mr. Marcel and producer/composer Jake Edwards, put their all into creating this track.
Fantastic Mr. Marcel himself says that ‘Love and Other Tools’ is “about trying to love and its falling apart but also learning to be at peace with that and most importantly letting go.” The way it’s written is so poetic, and lines can be put together to see from different perspectives in the situation. This can be seen in the opening of musical sections that come one after another. One states, “You fell in love with a wild one / Who was chasing a dream,” and the other is “He fell in love with a broken one / And he moves like the wind.” Each of these vocal lines has a similar flow in the written word, but the energy and musicality take a drastic shift. The music is another part of telling and establishing the full story of the track.
Fantastic Mr. Marcel is a London-based creative musician who works hand-in-hand with producer and composer Jake Edwards. The two were introduced to each other through mutual friends and eventually teamed up to start creating powerful music that’s packed with a range of influences. Their passion and skill for music truly shines through the well-crafted and produced music that they create together. ‘Love and Other Tools’ is the third track behind their latest EP, ‘Practice (Mixtape).’ The whole EP packs a serious punch and is available to listen to right now. Like much of Fantastic Mr. Marcel’s other music, it has such a cinematic quality all-throughout.
Written by Sage Plapp
