Demi Marriner – The Things We Didn’t Say

It is the things that Demi Marriner does say on her album ‘The Things We Didn’t Say’ that make it such a pleasure to listen to. Lots of lovely lyrics – whether single lines, paired rhymes or whole choruses – that wheedle their way into the ear. Wrapped in the broad genre of Americana, they sit neatly as a collection of emotional portraits. Love, regret, hope and loss are all on display on a record that finds her voice front and centre. She is a woman of words, and how beautifully does she put them together.

No doubt influenced by Elles Bailey, for whom Demi is a backing singer, opening track ‘Sins’ begins with an infusion of Gospel-Blues. The low basslines and high-pitched slides of the first minute’s instrumental sets the scene nicely for the potential that bubbles in a relationship where “troubles at the door / and I’m thinking about letting it in / but are you worth my sins?” This theme carries loosely into ‘Distorted Desires’, already a hit single, largely because its chorus is something special. A winning mixture of acoustic rhythm, lyrical arrangement and vocal dexterity make it so. But it’s also the gentle confidence with which its told that elevates it to a plain on which its deconstruction of forbidden love is unequivocally achieved. It matches the emotional heft of ‘Little Boy’, but in a very different way. For though both songs could be considered a form of encouragement, the basis of ‘Little Boy’ is advice rather than challenge. Written after the birth of her cousin, Demi pours the lessons of life into this track with sagacious enthusiasm. The subtle shift from “you won’t…” to “we don’t…” that precedes the line “…always get it right the first time” shows a shared vulnerability which makes for a sweet and poignant message.

There is also a poignancy to the other family-inspired song on the album. ‘Mother’ is the first of two that have graduated from her ‘Dandelion’ EP, this being a gently anthemic celebration of a pivotal figure in Demi’s life. Fragility is not shied away from; in fact, it serves to strengthen the bold images in its chorus. These range from “a robin floating in the breeze” to “a flower in a field of trees”, “a lighthouse to guide a sinking ship” and “a fighter for what she didn’t get”. Such descriptions are as uplifting as they are moving, and sit comfortably alongside a growing canon of maternally-inspired material, including ‘Mamas’ by Anne Wilson and ‘Mother’ by Kacey Musgraves.

The track that follows, ‘Don’t You Worry’, also has a mother-daughter relationship vibe. It is also unashamedly old school Country, especially in its sound. The simplicity to this toe-tapping arrangement brings a warm smile of appreciation before the familiarity of Demi’s signature tune, ‘Cold Coffee’, invites it to stay. The song still possesses one of the best lines in UK Country Music – “You’re like cold coffee / you tasted better the first time around” – told with a deftness that renders it sublime. Only ‘The Light’ could follow it as a fitting final track, with a rousing orchestral finale that brings the curtain down on an album with much to say. The artwork on the cover is reminiscent of ‘Sounds Good in a Bar’ by Katy Hurt. And many of these songs will. For Demi Marriner is a gifted storyteller and songwriter, of the same class as both Bailey and Hurt.

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Featured Images (C) Demi Marriner