Marie Franc are a five-piece Manchester-based band, a.k.a the Heartbreakers from Manchester, releasing dreamy pop and indie folk music since 2022 with their debut pieces ‘Beatrice’ and ‘Warthog’, weaving intimacy, honesty and emotional vulnerability throughout their art. Their songwriting is equally anchored in natural elements, as it is in tangible sensations, feelings and folkloric histories.
The perfect description I’d heard about Marie Franc’s music is ‘coffee house music’ – light, pleasing. It is rich and enveloping in its warmth from the first moment you tune in.
Initially a solo act by just the lead singer and songwriter, Rachel, she released her own music and EP titled Birthday during COVID, however, she quickly realised that a full band might be able to help her out with live sound and performance, thus forming the full band, Marie Franc. Rachel shares the stage with four other band members – Ben on bass guitar, second newly recruited Ben on electric guitar alongside Travis, and Dan on drums.
Founded in an ex-cotton mill, industrial and Mancunian inspiration seeps through the veins of Marie Franc’s discography. The lead singer and songwriter, Rachel, speaks out in an interview for Real Sounds: “Manchester is an industrious city. People get on with it, they make things happen with what they’ve got and there’s a natural grit that comes from that. The songs carry a bit more weight, a bit more dirt under the fingernails. That lineage of honesty and defiance is part of the air here.”
Their dream-pop and folk tracks are often shaped and defined by unique and captivating guitar riffs, the hum of the bass and a gentle ripple of drums. Rachel’s voice is exceptional in itself, bewitching and light.
The songs entwine nostalgia, yearning and self-reflection in their songwriting. Rachel once again speaks out about the band’s concepts for Real Sounds: “We keep returning to love and desire, the messy, aching parts of it and the fallout: romance, heartbreak, obsession. Sex threads through a lot of it too, but not always in a horny or glossy way… more like a hunger and a haunting. I write about my relationship with spirituality and the natural world, and I’m heavily drawn to folklore…” Marie Franc circulates around emotionally and physically intimate concepts with ease, and expressive writing at the core that is sure to entice you in and keep you hooked.
The description of the band is nothing but accurate: “Marie Franc doesn’t just write songs — they build worlds. One moment, you’re drawn into a velvet-lit haze of late-night folk noir; the next, you’re submerged in shoegaze distortion and slow-burn desire. Fragile yet incisive vocals soar and fracture against arrangements that are equal parts delicate and devastating. There’s a sensual darkness here — gritty, intimate, and unapologetically human — echoing the emotional gravity of Mazzy Star, while carving out something unmistakably their own.”
Fans of artists like Mazzy Star, Phoebe Bridgers, Nieve Ella, Clairo and Men I Trust will feel right at home with Marie Franc’s discography.
‘Warthog’ from 2022 is gentle, swaying you away into the lull of the melody, Rachel’s voice incredibly soothing throughout the sorrow of the song and ‘Beatrice’ from the same year continues the phantasmal atmosphere.
Since these two debut singles, 2025 saw the release of their most recent EP, ‘Saturday Boy’, defined as a “twisted dream-pop, soul, folk, and shoegaze into something raw, intimate, and cinematic — music you feel before you try to define it.” With each release, Marie Franc’s music explores more depth and dynamic in the instrumentality whilst keeping the gritty Mancunian identity as audible as possible. The ‘Saturday Boy’ EP introduced subtle groove and funk into tracks such as ‘Dunes’ and occasionally in the title track, showcasing the band’s range of musicality – always impressive and cultivated.
‘Leave The Light On’ is the epitome of their dream pop element, bathing in the oneiric and visionary mood of a lingering craving for someone no longer present. One of my favourite pieces of the EP definitely has to be ‘Loungewear’, paired up with a music video of silhouettes dancing against the red and orange-hued background, compiling the perfect sunset indie song about longing and desire.
2026 saw Marie Franc’s first release with their newest single, ‘Fabric’, released on the 27th of February. Described as “a song about coming out of the dark and into the light. It wrestles with self-reflection, self-loathing, and the uneasy beauty of acceptance. A heartbreak anthem threaded with cult-like imagery and existential weight, it explores the idea of becoming your own god — surrendering to the lucid, uncontrollable nature of life and choosing self-love within the chaos.” ‘Fabric’ intertwines the grandeur of the drums with the vigour of the guitars into an exalting single that just feels cathartic. Rachel’s usually “jazz-ballroom chanteuse sheen” transforms into an imposing choir with the company of backing vocals from her bandmates.
Taking a step into indie-rock and alt-rock inspiration, ‘Fabric’ once again shows off the musical range that Marie Franc is gifted with, easily weaving elements of multiple genres with each new release. Confident in their identity and creative expression, the music never disappoints and never falls into monotony.
On Saturday the 28th of the BRIT Awards, The Deaf Institute in Manchester saw something more gentle, niche and intrinsic. Marie Franc gave a magical performance alongside their two support acts from Vélez and Lily Haylett. Lucky me to have bought the tickets to their performance, I got there in time for the second support act from Vélez (a.k.a Cloé Vélez on Spotify and @velezband on Instagram). Unfortunately I can’t speak for the support from Lily Haylett, but her music thus far released and available on Spotify sounds ethereal. The Vélez Band gave an amazing performance, warming up the crowd with some blues and dream pop, the lead singer (Cloé) entertaining with both her (slightly dark) humour and beautiful singing voice.
The Marie Franc band members were seen lingering around the crowd, greeting their family and friends, chatting away and laughing. In between the sets, I also had the somewhat awkward (on my end) opportunity to greet two of the band mates – Ben (electric guitar) and Rachel (singer). Wishing them a great performance and all the best of luck, eventually out comes Marie Franc onto the stage, then.
The room sank into many-hued lights, the sparkle of a mirror ball and twinkle of fairy lights surrounding the bar. The red drapes hanging down the windows behind the stage complimented Rachel’s red dress, coherently making a moody and ambient atmosphere.
The show started off with a technical issue during ‘Warthog’ with Rachel’s microphone turned off. This mishap probably happened for the best, because as far as I noticed, when the crowd finally heard Rachel sing, they cheered the band on and they all collectively seemed to relax and let their guard down a little bit.
In between songs, Rachel and Ben (bass guitar) spoke to the public, telling stories of the band, exploring themes and inspiration behind some of their music, including the Pendle Witches from Lancashire, executed for their bravery to step outside women’s societal roles. That in turn intrigued Marie Franc to rethink how witches would manifest today, and dedicated the song to anyone in the room going “against the grain”, as Rachel expressed. Personally, I love when bands take the time to interact with the public in such ways, building connections and understanding between themselves and us.
The entire performance was simply phenomenal – there are no other words that describe that evening better than ‘phenomenal’. The band’s synchronisation was impeccable, the vocals tuning into each other, and the entire group complimenting each other’s sound plenty – had Ben not told me personally before the show that this is his first live performance with the band, I would’ve never thought so or believed it.
The setlist swayed the room, at moments luring in to the point that I forgot the room around me, completely flooded under the waves of the music. From Rachel’s vocals to Dan’s drumming, every element was lightweight to listen to.
Concluding the evening with the newest ‘Fabric’, giving their up until this point soft performance a grand finish and momentum, if they hadn’t left a lasting impression until then, they definitely did so with their finale. It’s worth mentioning that ‘Fabric’ is a far more impressive track when played live than the recorded version with the boom of the drums and raw guitars much more tangible. The track was built for live performance and the corporeal senses it stimulates through the vector of a venue and its sound system.
And thus, The Deaf Institute’s sound system has to be mentioned, because I’m just pedantic about these elements. There is room for improvement. As I mentioned, the instrumentals, the vocals – each element was absolutely perfect and magical on the band’s end and although The Deaf Institute is a great, atmospheric venue, The Lodge being a smaller hall had some hefty equipment that outweighed the possibilities of the room to nicely spread the soundscape.
The lack of a central vocal speaker was a slight hindrance, too, to Rachel’s voice that occasionally felt drowned out by the bassline and drums, especially when she took a step away from the microphone or during her gentler melodies. Nonetheless, the band cannot be held responsible for the sound system, their engineer milked the best he could out of what was available and the job was done amazingly, anyway. Attending this concert just left me craving for more of Marie Franc’s music, and especially looking forward to analogue releases that I can welcome onto my shelves.
As much as I wanted to, I unfortunately didn’t get to have a chat with the band or ask for an interview post-event. After the set, they weaved their way through the crowd, taking congratulations and greetings from some of the public and dashed into the backstage. The security soon started coming around and rushing people out the door, which left no opportunity to linger around for a little while to catch a conversation opportunity either. Although a shame, hopefully I can catch them for an interview in the future.
To conclude – if you haven’t had the chance to listen to their music, then primo, that should be your priority the evening you’re reading this, and then you should look into seeing them perform live because it is more than worth it. Their next performances will be as one of the line-up bands for the Truck Festival between 23rd and 26th July of this year, as well as Green Island’s line-up on 5th of September 2026.
Finally, if you decide you love their music as much as I do, you can use this link: Tramlines Festival 2026 – Apply to Play Voting!, to vote for Marie Franc to play the Tramlines Festival in 2026. You can also keep up with Marie Franc using this Instagram link: @mariefrancmusic, to know about further music releases and next their headline shows all around Lancashire.
Photo Credits:
Group photo – sourced from band’s Instagram
‘Fabric’ Cover – Press Release
Concert Photo – Adam Lewandowski
Article by Rozalia Lewandowska
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