For the Canadian band’s latest album, Astoria, Marianas Trench frontman Josh Ramsay envisioned a Pop/Rock concept piece that bowed in the direction of ’80s coming-of-age fantasy/adventure films, particularly The Goonies, whose fictional town inspired Ramsay’s title. Marianas Trench is no stranger to conceptual territory, having already mined that vein with 2009’s Masterpiece Theatre and 2011’s Ever After, but Astoria would prove to be a different sonic animal altogether.
Ramsay was so committed to his ’80s perspective that he and the band — guitarist Matt Webb, bassist Mike Ayley and drummer Ian Casselman — used only vintage gear to create the album’s brilliantly authentic cinematic sound. Ramsay even wallpapered his studio with movie posters from the era to immerse everyone in the proper mindset. As a result, Astoria, featuring guests like The Odds’ Craig Northey and Jellyfish’s Roger Manning, touches on core influences like The Beatles along with ’80s icons like Michael Jackson, Queen, Tears for Fears, Depeche Mode (you’ll hear nods to Toto’s “Africa” and Kenny Loggins’ “Footloose,” among many others) and the delicate score work of giants like John Williams to craft the musical framework of Ramsay’s tale of tragedy and triumph. The album’s artwork even mirrors the style of the poster art for The Goonies.
Astoria’s story wound up being more personal than metaphorical. Ramsey’s period of huge success — he was recently engaged, Grammy-nominated for producing and co-writing Carly Rae Jepsen’s ubiquitous single, “Call Me Maybe” and Marianas Trench had just secured an American label deal with Interscope — came crashing to a halt with his mother’s diagnosis of Lewy body dementia, a terrible Parkinson’s/Alzheimer’s hybrid. The stress of his mother’s illness and the internal pressure to begin work on Astoria ended his engagement and relationship and eventually landed him in the hospital.
Upon his release, Ramsay dove into the process of making Astoria with renewed vigor and purpose; the resulting album, featuring his mother and family on backing vocals on “End of an Era,” made it to No. 2 on the Canadian charts and nearly cracked the Top 50 in the U.S. and Australia.
Goonies never say die; neither does Marianas Trench.
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This article appears in Feb 3-10, 2016.