The third EP from the rising indie rock artist Etta Marcus takes a stylistic turn with Devour.
Marcus is an English singer-songwriter whose star has been on the rise for a few years. Since her debut single “Hide & Seek” in Oct. 2021, she has built an audience. Today, she’s opening for artists like Lana Del Rey. “Devour” marks her third EP. It’s the follow-up to her 2024 debut album, The Death of Summer and Other Promises.
The lead single from the EP, “Girls are God’s Machines,” might seem like a strange song for an English singer-songwriter to release. It focuses on the American South, with Marcus proclaiming “I’m a southern b*tch.” The confusion clears up if you think of Marcus playing a character, as the lyrics satirize Christianity’s role of women as solely creating children. The chorus of the song goes
“I pray that girls are god’s machines… straight outta the rib / man, it is what it is.”
The track feels like a fun, flirty southern rock song at first, but the Biblical allusion to God creating Eve out of Adam’s rib and the religion’s acceptance of her submission show a darker take.
The second single from the EP, “Teenage Messiah,” doubles down on the southern religious themes. It even includes a reference to Lana Del Rey’s “Mariners Apartment Complex” with the lyric “Kiss the sky, whisper to Jesus.” The song feels like a direct inspiration from Lana Del Rey, while Marcus still brings her own indie rock sensibilities to the music. Marcus is able to continue her style of epic highs and lows from her previous hits like “Theatre” and “Death Grips,” while evolving it and taking new inspirations.
Etta Marcus is currently on tour across Europe opening for artist Tom Odell.
I am an Austin, TX-based photographer and filmmaker. I moved from Houston to attend the University of Texas at Austin, where I graduated in 2022. I'm a lifelong music lover and spend tons of time attending shows and making music. Some current favorites are Sophie May, Farmer’s Wife, and K. Flay.
