Review: Marla Mase “Miracles: Lost & Found”

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From the first notes of “Truth Is Coming Down” off of Marla Mase’s latest release,”Miracles: Lost and Found” (True Groove Records), a barrage of upbeat styles pour out upon the first listen. The opening track sets the mood of the album with an indie rock guitar driven tune with catchy lines like “truth comes down” and “you are chosen” to immerse the listener into a wild flashback of flower power sounds.

The album captures a wide array of emotions, where much of the sound could be a homage to the Beatles, while the lyrics are constructed into poetry in motion. “Falling Sideways In Miracles” falls somewhere into a 60’s flower power psychedelia haze while “Dreamland” follows a basic beat driven, power pop format… easy to absorb, fun to listen to.

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On songs such as “A Gun” and “Hold You,” Mase showcases her songwriting strengths with catchy verses and stripped down poppy melodies. While many of her songs appear to be based on either poetry or spoken word pieces, the music compliments the points she aims for on each tune.

Entering the midway point of the album, “Everyone Dies” explores power pop sounds with a slight synth flavor, laced into a darker lyrical tone, which helps diversify the overall vibes of the work as a whole. Unpredictable, without going over the edge at the same time.

 

“56 Trees” incorporates horns into a poetic prose turned into a modern psychedelic tune, in which the Beatles style (songwriting wise and not musically) will once again take listeners on a musical journey, while the album closer “Always” is built around synth sounds, sounding more PJ Harvey in spots without losing any of the emotion from the rest of the album.

While this album could be pigeonholed as a blast from the past type of album with a Beatles references in parts, “Miracles: Lost and Found” has a wide array of flavors and has something for any listener who enjoys up tempo, power pop style sounds or song oriented tunes. While this album is not exactly power pop in the traditional sense, it still has enough variation for those who are seeking buoyant songs with a chill vibe without the excessive baggage.

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