Candlepower

A singer/songwriter in the classic 70s tradition who looks to the sophisticated, folk-inflected pop of artists like Carole King, Laura Nyro, and especially Joni Mitchell, Marina Allen signed with Fire Records before releasing her first recordings in early 2021. The Angelenos debut album, Candlepower, follows a few months later and offers an efficient, seven-track introduction to her work, which, while varied, never strays far from her influences. The record opens with the jazz-suffused Oh, Louise. Alongside complex-chord-marking guitar and keys, it starts out at the wispier, intimate end of Allens performance range before shifting to her confident, crystal-clear chest voice as the song picks up the pace and adds a rhythm section to the mix. The character study is followed by a sparer ballad, Original Goodness, thats distinguished by its lilting folk melody and lyrics like Sometimes I hear you/But its my voice, out of my head/Saw you mouth something from a mountain. Continued diversions include the darker, psych-tinged Belong Here, which includes flute, tambourine, and hand drumming in its arrangement, and the half-spoken, double-tracked Believer. The latter underscores its rhythmic city snapshots with a funky bass groove, tapped ride cymbal, and harp. Later, the piano ballad Reunion (Im always returnin to my own reunion) strongly evokes Carole King with both its melodic sensibility and longing vulnerability. Through its spaciousness, that track showcases the attention to detail present throughout a debut album that maintains a warm, analog feel and the nuanced vocal performances of a seasoned performer. ~ Marcy Donelson