Orla Gartland, dodie, Greta Isaac, and Martin Luke Brown have been solo powerhouse artists with their own unique styles. But what happens when these four icons come together to create music in a joyous fervor?
The answer is none other than The Secret to Life.
Aptly named FIZZ, this eccentric band released their debut album on October 27, 2023, four months after dropping their first song, “High in Brighton,” from the album. The story behind the formation of the band is as heartwarming as the title of the album itself.
“We basically wrote the album in two weeks. One week in December 2021, and another week in July 2022,” Greta Isaac states.
“The intention mainly was just to play and see what it was like to write together creatively and intuitively.”
“We just wanted to go to a studio and mess about, write drunk, and just say yes to every lyric and key change we wanted to put in. What came out was this maximalist whirlwind of music,” dodie adds.
The spontaneity of FIZZ’s recording and writing process as well as the band’s inseparable bond, as the member have been friends for 10 years, is reflected in all aspects of the band’s unique debut.
From the Discord server named “FIZZCORD” that expands the world of FIZZVILLE to the promotional photos that display members of the band in wacky outfits, including a blow-up marshmallow, everything that FIZZ touches has a distinct mark of their style.
In creating the visual world that mirrored the wild journey of writing this album, Greta Isaac explains, “We referenced a lot of films that we grew up watching: Willy Wonka, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, Wizard of Oz—all of these fantastical, technicolor films that feel really joyful and exaggerated and triumphant in so many ways but also have this twinge of uncanny valley-like darkness to it.”
Capturing FIZZ’s style in words is a hard task, especially since the band heavily relies on visuals for their concepts and their album invokes an amalgamation of emotions through sonic experimentation.
However, listening to the album from front to back is all one needs to understand how fully encompassing FIZZ’s music is of human experiences.
The band has many upbeat and silly songs, such as “Rocket League” bracketed by songs that have tinges of melancholy, such as “Close One,” and songs full of soft remorse, “You, Me, Lonely” and “Lights Out.” But regardless of the affect of the song, what’s so comforting about listening to FIZZ is knowing that through the hardships and best times, the glue holding all the soulful melodies and screaming harmonies is companionship.
“We all learned the power of working together. I think when we’re singing from the same hymn sheet figuratively, literally, or metaphorically, it’s so powerful, and that’s not something I’ve ever experienced before in my solo career,” Orla Gartland remarks, highlighting one of the most important lessons the band learned during the making of the album.
FIZZ’s ability to blend these four artists’ individual styles into spur-of-the-moment, artful music that has become the album “The Secret to Life” demonstrates how much potential the power of friendship has in creating imaginative music and visuals. For those who haven’t listened yet, give FIZZ a chance to take you on a Hell of A Ride.
FIZZ's debut album is available to stream on all platforms.
Sam H. is a college student planning to study psychology. They're an avid fan of niche TVshows and often enjoy reading comics in their spare time.