Husband-and-wife folk duo Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz have a new record that looks deep at personal growth with patience and perspective
by Addie Ladner

This month, North Carolina indie roots band Watchhouse will release their ninth studio album, Rituals. It’s the second album from married musicians Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz since the duo changed their group’s name from Mandolin Orange in 2021. Rituals is an 11-track body of work that showcases Watchhouse’s signature serene harmonic vocals and stacked acoustic guitar sounds.

The album was three years in the making. “We’d come together and do these iterations until we got it just right,” says Marlin, who typically writes the lyrics, with Frantz editing them. “As the years keep ticking on, I find myself more and more patient, and these songs benefit from that. The patience is palpable in this album.” Rituals feels like an intimate look into their thoughts, touching on the themes of growth, identity, truth and the beauty in both the awe-inspiring and grueling moments in life. Marlin says his favorite track on the album may be “Shape,” a simple tune with repeating riffs. “It’s so easy to play,” he says. “Whenever I sit down and pick up my guitar, I start playing it, which is a good indication that I love the song.” What a nice ritual.

This article originally appeared in the May 2025 issue of WALTER magazine