After capturing attention in 2016 with her first, extended play “MARG EP” at the still tender age of 18, Argentinian-born, American Singer-Songwriter MARG has been working her craft over the last couple of years. After moving to the U.S. as a young child, she became interested in performing arts and spent most of her time singing karaoke and learning instruments like the piano and violin. Her new 10 track studio album, “THE VOICES”, shows her coming into her own as an artist while also building anticipation for potential still to be realized. While her most recent effort fits comfortably in the Indie-Pop realm, MARG’s ability to connect emotionally to her audience and to the lyrics she is singing makes her seem beyond her years at only 20. She possesses a rawness and honesty that cannot be taught and moments that show there is more she can experiment with to stretch her sound even further.
The album begins with an eclectic intro entitled “Flaws INTRO” before it kicks off properly with “Stronger”, where MARG’s ethereal voice floats over the verses of and elicits imagery of an angel luring the listener. It is evident she has grown here by exploring new sounds and also in the strength of her voice.
The track balances her sincere introspective lyrics with the increased production value of the song, and it feels like a window into where further experimentation could take her in the future. There is no shortage of emotion on “THE VOICES” and the songs most often seem to refer to relationships, growth, and perseverance.
In “Crooked Smile”, a haunting mid-tempo song, MARG shows her maturity as a singer and songwriter with the quiet intensity of her voice that clutches the heart in moments when it soars, and affects us when she is in her lower register as she sings, “I’m surrounded by your pretty eyes and that crooked smile,” in the opening verse.
MARG has a subdued power that is infused throughout her music. In “Dark Clouds” she tugs at the heart strings, as she often does, with dripping emotion in her voice. It is easy to relate to her story about the uncertainty of love, and the believability in her vocal delivery as she sings, “My tears dry up quickly and I’m the only one who sees me. I look around and nobody’s there.”
“That Morning” once again, offers a haunting electronically infused track. The song crescendos with an enquiring chorus: “Tell me why am I always sad when you’re around. And why do I always cry when you say you love me. Why can’t I just try to embrace this feeling of nothing when I say I feel everything?” MARG’s songs of survival are balanced by those that draw on the moments that ignite the fight to move forward.
In the title track “The Voices”, she sings with a fragility in her voice accompanied by a sincerity in her lyrics that is both profound and beautiful in their simplicity. There is an airy quality to MARG’s voice that provides a subtlety to her delivery. She never overpowers the intent of the lyrics with vocal acrobatics, though she is fully capable.
In “Miles Away” she shows vulnerability as she sings of finding strength to overcome delusion. The theme of finding hope and light in the face of darkness is showcased again in “Let’s Be Friends”. The track shows that she has gained perspective and maturity through experience, and is finding her way.
There are moments on this album that show the possibility of where MARG can go musically. “Tropical Marijuana” is one of those moments. The song has a slow-building vibe with a sinuous rhythmic flow that will have the listener swaying to the groove. This is quintessential MARG, where her understated yet affecting vocals only serve to amplify the emotion in her lyrics.
MARG gives us a little of her soul on “I Hope She Breaks Your Heart”. It is heartbreaking and mournful, yet oddly hopeful at the same time, as she tells the tale of someone waiting impatiently on the sidelines to pick up the pieces of a broken relationship.
MARG comes full circle emotionally, in this final track. It is hard to believe she is only at the early stages of her career as a singer and songwriter. She shows a great deal of growth already, and it will be exciting to look ahead to where her sound will go, and how she will enchant us with her gentle grace and her strength, down the road.
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