Louis Roe

Local Spotlight: St. Nothing

5 AM. That’s how St. Nothing lead singer Marco Lawrence describes the solo-project turned trio. After hearing them headline a Great Scott show, Marco’s genre-less description of their sound makes a lot of sense: What else would you call a performance consisting of dim blue lighting, the murmuring hum of synth, and Marco’s whispery, uncomplicated lyrics? Their sound evokes a dreamlike state, and it’s easy to imagine a late night (well, early morning) scene. When asked about the carefully constructed, eerie atmosphere of a St. Nothing show, Marco said, “Whenever we do extra things for live settings, we’re aiming to create some kind of visual extension of the songs.” Hopefully, the band will be able to retain this sort of intimacy in their upcoming Boston Calling performance – the large audience and daytime slot will certainly counter the ambience they strive to create.

Formed just this March, this Boston-based electro-pop act has quickly risen in popularity. Shortly after their transformation from the Hall of Mirrors project to three-piece St. Nothing, the act played a show at the Sinclair in April. But why the name change? Marco explained that the newer material just had a different feel: “It was right after I’d gone into a sort of musical hibernation over the past winter break and written most of the songs that we play at shows now.”

Minimal, Straightforward Lyrics

There’s nothing terribly elaborate about St. Nothing’s lyrics, but that’s what makes them stand out. Each message is delivered with a compact simplicity; no breath is wasted on expendable words. It’s clear in Marco’s songwriting process, which he described as “deliberate.” Indeed, though the statements are somewhat general in subject, the bare, minimal lyrics bring to mind Majical Cloudz and deliver a similar punch.

On Hit Single “Keep”

Many a tune is written about memories. Marco shared with us the origins of “Keep,” a track that has become their most popular: “‘Keep’ was started when my friend Kira and I played around with a vocal loop pedal and ended up with the main loop that runs through the song. Everything was built around that.”

A World of Small Bubbles: The Boston Music Scene

There’s no better way to understand the musical landscape of our city than to hear about it from Boston’s own bands. Marco touched on the fact that the scene can be somewhat fractured at times, pointing out that “there are so many great musical things happening in the city, but they happen in their own little pockets that tend not to cross over into each other.” While that may be the case, the good news is, those who thought they’ve heard all that Boston’s got still have a lot of new sounds to discover — St. Nothing included.

St. Nothing will be performing at Boston Calling this Saturday at 1:05 PM on the Red Stage.