1. ‘We Had An Agreement’: is fairly haunting as Marini sings about remembering a past love in his deep manly voice. The chorus repeats the song title in the same tone before Marini beings to sing in a higher register. There is pain in his voice echoing the lyrics of the song, begging the subject to remember an “agreement” they once had.
2. ‘Empty Rooms’: A female voice is added harmonising perfectly with Marini as guitar builds up welcoming an instrumental section. Their voices work well together, although the track leaves you feeling a little empty and doesn’t seem to go anywhere.
3. ‘You Don’t Know What Love Is’: is the album stand out as Marini pours out “I lay there all night, to keep myself warm” as a simple beat repeats. The chorus is beautiful, so simple yet stunning, while the lyrics talk of loving someone who does not seem capable of reciprocating. It’s incredibly emotional, a song that lot of people will be able to relate to.
4. ‘Trains’: sounds almost like a live recording; the imperfect vocals have not been tampered or corrected giving the track a raw feel. A silence brings the song to a halt about two minutes in, the vocal then reduces the tempo, as an imperfect guitar is strung before picking up to where the song left off.
5. ‘White Van Man’: sounds almost Latin to begin with, the guitar strums like you’d imagine on a Spanish beach before Marini’s voice begins to sing like a wild west cowboy. The song paints a perfect picture in your head and tells a detailed story just like every country classic.
6. ‘Windmills’: brings a slower pace, Marini’s almost ‘talk singing’ speaks of telling someone he loved them when he was drunk. Marini’s lyrics really tell stories, comparing love to a windmill, asking how many times the feeling will spin around before finally settling, then how he will treat his love in winter and summer. It’s over before it’s begun but yet still a lovely song.
7. ‘Ode To Mutants’: starts with a faded harmonica, which increases in volume, you could imagine Marini sitting in the middle of a field in Southern American playing it. A slight glimpse into his Scottish accent can be heard, before the song takes a rocky theme as electric guitar and drumz are added. The song conjures images of death as Marini sings of cutting someone’s head off and dead bodies with open wounds.
8. ‘Paris’: is almost a capella, as Marini paints an image of a man being reminded of Paris because of the heat in the room he is in. The man is in Glasgow. A drum begins to bang, the sound muffled like it is coming from another room. Marini’s voice soars as the drum continues and he sings about the Glasgow rain. “You tell me that you love me/but should I believe?” ends the song, as the confused man in love wanders the streets of Glasgow.
9. ‘Untitled’ could be a continuation of ‘Paris’ as Marini talks of the night time, a church bell ringing at 2am, he feels like he owns the city as no one else is around. He imagines where he would take his love. Here Marini’s Scottish accent can be heard more than any other song and is at it’s most compelling.
Marini has a beautiful voice, his tone is perfection, he really makes you feel what he is singing and understand how he is feeling. Lyrically the songs are very well written, personal and even though the songs are all similar structure wise and lyrically, they are all stand on their own but when put together tell a story. Very much a mellow and chilled out collection of songs Andrea Marini is beautifully written and sung and worth while taking the time to listen to.
Words: James McElvar
