Man Overboard’s Nik Bruzzese has released the debut singles from his new solo project, Casa Loma. Both “Travelers” and “Famaglia“are both out now and available to listen to across streaming services.
On “Travelers,” Bruzzese shares, “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.”
He continues about “Famaglia,” 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.”
“Famaglia” and “Travelers” are both off of Casa Loma’s forthcoming EP, This Is Coping, due out June 5, 2020 via Pure Noise Records. The six-track EP was recorded at The LumberYard, the New Jersey recording studio Nik shares with Ace Enders of The Early November. Bruzzese shares, “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.”
While there are a 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.
“I’m not like a ‘serious’ person by any means,” the vocalist, producer and multi-instrumentalist says. “I’m a very sarcastic Italian ballbreaker from New Jersey. But this record is the exact opposite of all of that.”
Nik lost more than one friend, back to back, in what he describes as “crazy, crazy ways.” Casa Loma 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.
“I don’t want to waste any time, because tomorrow isn’t promised,” he says. “I wished I had that letter in the desk, you know, ‘If you’re reading this, I must be dead. Just know that everything is going to be okay,” he says.
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.
This Is Coping will be released June 5, 2020 via Pure Noise Records. To pre-order, please visit https://smarturl.it/CasaLoma.
This Is Coping Tracklisting:
01. All Alone Again
02. DP23
03. Famaglia
04. I Wanna Know
05. Olivia, Marley, and Duck Pond
06. Travelers