Etta Marcus Rejects Conformity On New Single ‘Mechanical Bull’
The track is the first to be shared by the London artist since her debut EP ‘Heart-Shaped Bruise’
Etta Marcus has returned with “Mechanical Bull,” a new single that sees her rejecting what’s expected of her and living outside of conformity.
The track, which is the first to arrive since the release of the 22-year-old musician’s debut EP Heart-Shaped Bruise in January, was written with producer Josh Scarbrow and produced and mixed by Rodhaid McDonald.
“All I gotta be is radical, girl/Swallow a coin and ride,” she sings in the chorus. “Wakey wakey/What a wonderful world/You think you make me/But I’m loving it, girl.”
“‘Mechanical Bull’ is a sarcastic love letter to the never-ending nature of a monotonous lifestyle,” Marcus explained in a press release. “I wanted to express my desires and fears around the rejection of conformity and the embarrassment that goes along with stepping outside expectations.”
The new track gives a taste of what to expect from the new music Marcus has been creating while holed up in a secluded cabin in Whitstable. Sonically, it represents another shift in direction for the singer-songwriter who continues to defy pigeon-holing, carving out an artistic identity all her own.
Over the course of her first two EPs, last year’s self-released acclaimed debut EP, View From The Bridge, and the recent Heart-Shaped Bruise, critics have drawn comparisons with the likes of Lana Del Rey, Fiona Apple, Sharon Van Etten, and Phoebe Bridgers but with influences spanning David Bowie, Joni Mitchell, Radiohead and Everything But The Girl, Etta resists being boxed in any specific genre. “If anyone calls me something, I immediately want to do the opposite,” she says. “How would you describe a Cass Elliot, The Strokes, and a wannabe Jeff Buckley concoction?”
When Heart-Shaped Bruise arrived, Marcus was heralded as one of 2023’s hottest emerging artists at the start of the year. That EP captured a sense of honesty in her songwriting but put it through a “gritty, unfiltered and unhinged” lens, and earned her spots on the prestigious NME 100 as well as tip lists from the likes of The Line Of Best Fit, DIY, Clash, The Independent, The Times, and more.
