Thus Love: An Interview with Echo Mars

The band Thus Love was formed in Brattleboro, Vermont in 2019. It started with Echo Mars and Lu Racine, but has now expanded with the addition of Ally Juleen and Shane Blank. The band got recognition after their debut album titled, Memorial, released in 2022. Their latest album titled, All Pleasure, was released in 2024 and named as one of Rolling Stone’s Top 50 Indie Rock Albums of 2024. The band recently played at Bennington College, where I had the pleasure of speaking with the band’s lead singer, Echo Mars, about his journey with the band.

How did the band start?

“I joined a band called I love you in 2018. Eventually through a couple lineup changes, we made our first record, and then we changed our name to Thus Love. We signed with an indie label in New York kind of out of the blue, even though we hadn’t played New York at all, so we started playing there a lot and kind of formed a little foundation regionally. After signing with the New York label, we’ve had really fortunate opportunities to tour internationally and stuff, but yea, I would definitely say New York was like the big breakout place for us for sure.”

What has it been like to make music in Vermont and be a part of the music scene here?

“I think being creative in a rural area allows you a certain graciousness with time and with your energy. There are fewer social engagements that eat up your time. So, yeah music is kind of a way to cope with maybe a dreary winter isolation or a whimsical summer where you just want to be alone. It’s pretty conducive for making art, but I mean, you know, the grass is always greener. I definitely envision a life where I am living in New York and I’m seeing shows every night, but that also sounds really exhausting. I get to do that on tour, and when I get home I just feel so grateful to have Vermont as my home.”

“It was fucking great. We were just talking in the green room about it. It is definitely a top shelf college show for sure. The Downcaf venue space is very cool and the energy was good tonight. We played here for the Sunfest Festival when it was raining and we had to move it inside and that was awesome too. The people here treat us very well and it’s nice to play in a setting like this.