Air Marshal Landing – Vitamins

Band: Air Marshal Landing
EP: Vitamins

Written by: Chiara DiAngelo

Uxbridge, Ontario’s Air Marshal Landing is comprised of Matt Simmonds (vocals, bass, keys), Cory Adrian (guitar, vocals), and Graham Drummond (drums, keys). The band found their way onto my radar after I caught their set during CMW and I’ve been looking forward to hearing some of those songs recorded ever since. Produced and mixed by Nygel Asselin (Half Moon Run), the trio released their latest EP, Vitamins, on June 19. There isn’t necessarily a lot of continuity within the EP as a whole, but this speaks to the experimentation the young band has employed as their sound continues to evolve.

Opening with “Already Dead,” there is an easy loping gait to the lilting vocals that is immediately appealing. The light-hearted blissful essence to the bouncing, jangly and upbeat guitar piqued my interest, especially as it serves as a backdrop against the almost existentialist and gruesome lyrics of being “already dead” due to “a knife through the heart, a shot to the head.” This feeds into second song “Dagger,” which maintains a similar quality with its effervescently catchy “whoa-oh’s.”

While these two tracks instantly catch the listener’s ear, I found “Meteor” to be the “sleeper” song on the album. It’s very different from the rest of the EP, and came up slowly, growing on me more and more with each subsequent listen. There’s an effortless, floating feeling to the vocals that is married with expansive, building instrumentals that border on epic. There are few things in life that can quiet my overactive brain, but with my eyes closed, this song succeeds at capturing my entire attention and carrying me away. The EP ends with the simple melody of the title track, “Vitamins.” It goes down easy with a little bit of a sunshiney quality, not unlike the sunshine vitamin (vitamin D) that it references.

While the dietary recommendation is typically to “take your vitamins,” this time I’m recommending you “listen to Vitamins.” The 5-track EP is a prelude to a full-length LP due out later this year; it can be streamed or purchased on a pay-what-you-choose basis through their Bandcamp.

As for upcoming shows, Air Marshal Landing will be opening Fade Chromatic’s EP release this Friday (July 6) at Annex Live. Details can be found here.