Mared’s latest EP washes over the listener like waves on a shore. If Sian Eleri is yet to play it on her Chillest Show then it’s strongly recommended. ‘Everything I Left Behind’ exists in a liminal space, floating between alt-folk, RnB and electro-pop. Fellow Welsh artists Georgia Ruth and Al Lewis come to mind in both in its sonic delivery and vocal whimsy. There is a real dividing line between third-person, character-driven narrative and first-person, metaphoric introspection. The former so strong in its imagery (‘Consequential’) and powerfully portrayed (‘Unwinding’) as to invite the listener to invest emotionally in their stories. The latter so honest in its rendering that, when mixed with an amplified electronic sound, communicates a transitional state between past and present, loss and possibility, in the context of relationship (‘Numbing’) and self (‘Everything I Left Behind’). Holding the two sides together is ‘Bore Hir’, a sensuous track whose inclusion of real water trickling alongside guitar strings exemplifies the overall vibe of this record. It is one that invites reflection – amser i anadl – as Mared combines lyrical vulnerability with mellow musicality. An approach that has worked for her before, and in the case of this EP, is a winning formula.
You can listen to Mared’s new EP on your preferred streaming service or, like me, you can purchase a copy on her Bandcamp page.
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