Last month, MAN OVERBOARD’s Nik Bruzzese officially announced his solo project, Casa Loma, as well as the release of the project’s debut EP, “This Is Coping”, due out June 5, 2020 via Pure Noise Records. Today, Bruzzese is releasing the third single off of the EP, “Olivia, Marley, and the Duck Pond”.
“Olivia, Marley, and the Duck Pond” follows the release of “Travelers” and “Famaglia” all three of which are off of the six-track EP, recorded at The LumberYard, the New Jersey recording studio Nik shares with Ace Enders of The Early November.
Bruzzese shares on the single:
“After years on the road, I bought the house I grew up in from my mom. The name of the neighborhood is Duck Pond, and now I get to live there with my wife and daughters, Olivia and Marley. On the surface, this song is about giving my kids a home and how much it sucks for them that I know all the house’s secrets, because I spent almost a decade trying to sneak out of it. But on a deeper level it deals with darker stuff; me trying to give them a song, a message, for the day I’m not around”.
Bruzzese continues about the EP:
“I started writing this EP as a therapy session for myself. I went through one of the hardest years of my life last year because I lost two people very near to me. But when you’re a dad and have two daughters like I do, you’re not allowed to be sad. You have to be excited and happy about everything, even though inside you might be ripping to shreds. I think that’s the way most people work; they have to put up this front like everything’s fine even though they actually think the world is falling down around them. So writing this album was a way for me to vent and get out those feelings without tearing somebody’s head off or being a perpetual bummer to my family and friends. It’s for everyone who has to be this one person during the day and then someone different when they’re on their own”.
While there are a few Man Overboard songs that teeter on the edge of acoustic-driven dream pop warmth, the stuff Nik Bruzzese tackles with Casa Loma wouldn’t quite fit within the context of his main band.
“I’m not like a ‘serious’ person by any means” the vocalist, producer and multi-instrumentalist says. “I’m a very sarcastic Italian ballbreaker from New Jersey. But this record is the exact opposite of all of that”.
Nik lost more than one friend, back to back, in what he describes as “crazy, crazy ways”. Casa Loma provided an outlet for him to explore his feelings about the passing of his father, as well as Cold Collective singer and dear friend, Tim Landers of Transit.
“I don’t want to waste any time, because tomorrow isn’t promised” he says. “I wished I had that letter in the desk, you know, ‘If you’re reading this, I must be dead. Just know that everything is going to be okay,” he says.
Across the half-dozen songs of shimmering, saccharine sweet, expansive and atmospheric indie-rock that comprises the debut EP from Casa Loma, Nik’s vibrant voice explores loss, longing, and connection.
“This Is Coping” will be released June 5, 2020 via Pure Noise Records.
Lyrics:
Hey Olivia,
How did you sleep?
How did you dream?
I’ve been waiting for you to wake up…Hey Marley Joy,
How did you sleep?
How did you dream?
I’ve been waiting for you to wake up…And all this time I’ve lived my life on the road looking for signs that I’ll get right…
No, I’ll get right for you…When I’m no longer here to be with you
I wrote these songs for you to hold on to
My voice will bring you peace
Baby, don’t cry for me…
When the sun rises and sets without me
My love will go on, you can set me free
I’m with you all the time
Living in the sunshine…Hey Olivia,
How did you sleep?
How did you dream?
I am so proud of you foreverHey Marley Joy,
How did you sleep?
How did you dream?
I am so proud of you foreverAnd with this time I got I’ve tried to be the man that’s by your side
I’ll be your ride
Got me for life, its true.
