Hi, Clara and Jasmin here! We are two students from the inaugural cohort of Sound Thinking NYC! We decided to come together to create this column to share some of our favorite pieces of music to all of our readers in hopes of expanding your palate. With our reviews of production, sound and background information, we hope to help you discover new music and artists that you normally wouldn’t listen to. Music is a very large area of opportunities and we hope through this monthly column, we could make it a little easier to get to know some great artists to watch out for! Thank you for reading! – J & C.
Review By: Jasmin Bota
This month the album I’d like to focus on is the soundtrack to the popular musical, Waitress. Originally a famous movie back in 2007, composer and pop singer Sara Bareilles brings this movie to the stage with her raw emotion, and beautiful interpretation of this heart-wrenching journey. The show is a self-discovery story about a woman named Jenna who is married to an abusive husband. After one drunk night, Jenna finds herself pregnant and must decide whether or not to leave him for good after she gives birth. To cope, Jenna finds baking to be a sense of comfort and uses it as her creative outlet—throughout the show she uses baking to help her figure out her problems. As Jenna’s pregnancy progresses and Jenna’s pregnancy journey continues, Jenna begins to fall in love with her OBGYN and the two start an affair that will change her life. This emotional rollercoaster of self-doubt and re-discovery creates a story that has listeners on the edge of their seats from start to finish.
Waitress is an award-winning musical and is the first Broadway show to have an all-female creative team. Waitress has also set the record for the most money earned in previews for a play showing at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. This album includes powerful ballads by Broadway actress, Jessie Mueller, who plays Jenna and is mostly known for her role as Carole King, as well as appearances by Kimiko Glenn, Keala Settle, Drew Gehling, and many more. The heartfelt lyrics and emotion within this album makes Waitress a story to remember and with a band of very few, this music is as raw as its story. I would rate this soundtrack a 7/10 because of its storyline and plot as well as vocal richness. The only reason I will not give it a 10 is because Broadway shows are simply better in person. The magic of live theater is one that is well underestimated!
Although streaming this album is a gift on its own, seeing the show with it creates an experience I’m sure every music lover would kill to get their hands on.
Rating: 7/10
Album: Waitress the Musical
Composer: Sara Bareilles
Review By: Clara O’Connell
In late 2015 and early 2016, the vocalist of the British band Marmozets, Becca Macintyre, endured two intensive procedures on both of her knees, immobilizing her for months after the operation. Those months spent in solidarity launched Macintyre into a depressive spiral to the point where she considered quitting the band, something she had been working on since she was fifteen years old. But she felt as though the stage was where she belonged, and she could never give that up. Little by little she began to get back on her feet and find her place again. And so Marmozets, comprised of Macintyre’s brothers Sam and Josh on guitar and drums, respectively, and brothers Will (bass) and Jack (guitar) Bottomley, began recording for their second album Knowing What You Know Now later that year, 2016.
The album features dance-y songs like “Meant to Be,” big rock songs like “Habits” and “Suffocation,” and slower, more somber songs like “Me & You”. The sonic diversity of the record was a deliberate choice; “That’s the beauty of art; you can go in so many different directions,” says Macintyre to Rock Sound magazine. Macintyre’s vocal performance is incredible and impressive—switching from angsty rock sounds in songs like “Major System Error” to a strong, deep voice in songs like “Insomnia”.
Despite the variety in sound throughout the album, Knowing What You Know Now has a common idea running through it. It’s “about going through all the trials and the crap that life does bring… It’s about realizing and getting some sort of method to fall in place for you to be able to deal with those situations, when they come back around,” is how Macintyre describes it to AltPress magazine back in January 2018. In a sentence, this record is for anyone looking for an honest British rock album with a strong vocal lead and energetic band to back it up.
Song: Run With The Rhythm
Rating: 4/5
Album: Knowing What You Know Now (Roadrunner Records)
Artist: Marmozets
CUNY Creative Arts Team 