WANDERER REVIEW
The gentle opener Wanderer with its angelic choral accompaniment is a soothing and ethereal beginning to the self-titled album.
Moving in soft oscillations the ebb and flow of percussion and piano on In Your Face delicately frames Marshall’s vocals. Reflective both metaphorically and literally, the mirror Marshall refers to throughout is one of inescapable reality.
The chewing gum drumming and semi acoustic swagger of You Get, shadow boxes with a one-two-one combo. Refined in its delivery, it is nonetheless a feisty track.
Featuring Lana Del Rey, Woman is a bright alt-country duet with electric organ hughs. The strong acoustic backbone running throughout the track is flanked by a small string section and a pitter patter of piano.
Meandering slowly, Horizon twists and turns in keeping with the underlying piano piece that is at the heart of this track. As Marshall picks through family members and subsequent relationships with them, the song unfurls revealing more and more intricate details about each. An unexpected, albeit subtle, use of auto-tune is not a musical element one would expect knowing Marshall’s style but as an ever evolving artist never shy of experimentation, it should come as no surprise.
It is always a curious matter when an artist selects a song to cover and Marshall’s choice of Stay by Rihanna is a curious one indeed. Is it because they come from polar opposites on the musical spectrum or it is because there is a mutually shared space between the female vocalists? Presumably the latter rather than the former because the track isn’t dramatically reworked or reimagined in any innovative way but the passion behind the lyrics felt by each artist is clearly heard.
The stripped back Black features nothing more than Marshall and an acoustic. Overlapping vocals provide the depth to the track. Simple in its construction and simple in its delivery, a moment of reflection on this ponderous track.
A tambourine shake is at the core of Robbin Hood with an almost imperceptible thump as the only form of percussion in an otherwise acoustic driven track. As the title would suggest, it is a tale of who is robbing who.
The bar room piano of Nothing Really Matters is played in isolation, a hollow echo to the keys mirrors the sentiment of loneliness. As Marshall speculates, when all is said and done, are the opinions of others really important and using the yard stick of other people is no real measure.
A solemn Marshall employees a mix of vocal styles on Me Voy as she declares that she “leaving”. A customary fusion of gentle piano accompaniment and closed guitar notes as a slowdown heading towards the Wanderer Exit. The trumpet that signifies the finale of this track is so fitting for the last track as it encapsulates the parting and farewell salute that Marshall so delicately describes throughout the piece.
