Nik Bruzzese of Man Overboard released two debut singles from his new solo project Casa Loma via Pure Noise Records. His debut EP ‘This is Coping’, which will include “Travelers” and “Famaglia”, is due out June 5th on the label.
Pre-order the EP here: https://smarturl.it/CasaLoma
About “Travelers”, he stated:
“Ever since my dad died, I feel like he sends me signs. Sometimes when I hear a weird sound in my house or a song on the radio, or I have an interaction with a stranger that feels special, I think it happened because my dad is trying to say something to me. I guess I keep looking for these signs because my dad didn’t really leave me with anything other than like, a Roth IRA. I want to leave something for my kids that’s on a level where they know it’s to them from me. So this song is like a letter in a drawer telling my kids what I need to say if I ever have to leave them.”
About “Famaglia”, he continued:
“This is totally a song meant to be played on an episode of ‘This Is Us’. I don’t watch it, but my wife does, and every time she finishes an episode, she’s crying. I wrote this song from the perspective of a friend who lost a loved one in the most messed up way possible. When you lose someone like this, you have to be in touch with yourself spiritually and know even though the person you love is gone, you can talk to him and be lifted up with his presence instead of crashing and burning your way through life.”
While there are 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. He lost more than one friend, back to back, in what he describes as “crazy, crazy ways”. This project 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.
About the EP, he stated:
“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.”
The EP ‘This is Coping’ was recorded at The LumberYard, the New Jersey recording studio Nik shares with Ace Enders of The Early November. 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.
Photo Credit: Kurt Fowles
