Laura Marie – Too Sweet: Songs for Setting Boundaries – 5 Song EP
Some sets of music take a little time to get through, like food that doesn’t agree with the palette. It isn’t bad it’s just for selective tastes. Then comes music from someone like South Texas’ Laura Marie that sounds like I could listen to all day & I get 5 songs (1 additional 6th cut is a radio edit). That’s life.
Laura has a strong tone, is very articulate, commanding with her vocalizing & her songs are all fertilized to grow aggressively & healthy. “I Told You So,” & “Too Sweet,” open the CD & they’re creatively sharp, with catchy melodies & a vivid presentation. She’s not following anyone’s map she makes her own path.
The overall aim of this short showcase is survival, intense struggles, navigating love & relationships through an intimate conversation, owning up to self-awareness & adding a little sensuality to the mix. Amazing how relationships that failed can reward you with creativity – maybe that’s the mind’s own healing process.
The 6 tunes that makeup Too Sweet: Songs for Setting Boundaries – EP (Drops May 26–Independent) were recorded remotely in studios in Brooklyn. Produced by Jake Owen (guitars/bass/keys/programming/arrangements) the majority of the songs deal with heavy-duty topics – abuse, consequences of trauma, what a survivor goes through & all the pivotal points. It’s not always easy to express oneself through such painful experiences but these 6-songs seem to be part of a healing process Laura Marie has turned into a positive outcome – that others as well, can draw upon.
Song premiere: https://americanahighways.org/2023/04/11/song-premiere-laura-marie-shadows/
Laura Marie doesn’t write her songs with a depressive angle – for the most part, her melodies sparkle with optimism. My only suggestion is this: for such topics a warmer production, an up-close microphone with more intimate vocals would’ve been more effective.
I say this since average listeners will lose the deeper meaning of the songs since the music & instrumentation is often infused with lots of clarity & upbeat levels seldom depict the deeper dive of the subjects Laura wishes to convey.
One song has colorful language. Overall, the production is well presented & Laura has provided a set of listenable songs drawn from well-explored difficult topics. Her voice is superb throughout these 5 songs.
Highlights – “I Told You So,” “Too Sweet,” “Why” “Painkiller” & “Shadows.”
Musicians – Laura Marie (vocals), Mauro Refosco (drums/percussion), Andy Dollerson (additional keys/programming) with Delaney Stockli & Ludovica Burtone (violins), Lourdes Rosales (viola) & Emily Hope Price (cello).
CD cover & portrait photography by Kimberly Kay Scott. The 22-minute CD @ Bandcamp + https://lauramariemusic.com/home