Music Review // Chris Mardini "Chris Mardini" (Polar Bear Recordings)

// https://www.chrismardinimusic.com/ //

If you presented me with this self-titled album and told me that it was the future of music I would tell you that the future is looking good.   Throughout these songs by Chris Mardini, a few different styles of music are covered but they all bring us back to the same common factor which is a sound Chris Mardini has crafted and given new life to.    Through uncompromising melodies, these are songs which can be played at any time without offending and yet there is another layer to them as well.

On one part of this album there exists a sense of rock mixed with pop.   It reminds me of Plain White T's, but also on "Sleepless (Dry Eye)" there is that big pop radio sound which could be compared with someone such as Imagine Dragons or X Ambassadors.   It's that type of song which could be on either the alternative rock radio station or the pop one who plays artists like AJR and Mumford & Sons.   There is also just some great guitar work on this album, which in some ways makes it feel too complex for the radio and the masses but overall I think this should be mainstream.  

Another side of this album has what I like to call the Twenty One Pilots effect, as some of the words are spoken like a rap and there are beats in the songs, closing in on hip-hop.   This becomes apparent in "Herd", though it is also on "Grin" and really if you've listened to all of the Twenty One Pilots songs that you can you'll hear their influence throughout the entire album.   But as much as I feel like it has that influence of a radio artist I think between the two levels of this- the radio pop rock and Twenty One Pilots sound- it just showcases how well Chris Mardini has grabbed different styles of music and molded them into a sound all their own.  This especially becomes clear as "Herd" just drops off into a sea of distorted guitar chords.

Lines like "Run your mouth like it's a race" are ones you should be quoting.  The back and forth on "Herd" between "closest friends" and "my enemies" is truly powerful as well.   This self-titled album definitely has the type of way about it where you should listen to it first and just try and take in all of the sounds- the musical aspect of it.  After listening for a few more times, then you can begin to start focusing more directly on the lyrics and song meanings.  Putting these two things together though will undoubtedly leave you with an album which you will never forget.