From Providence, Rhode Island comes the high octane sound of the very talented Mari Kattman. This trip hop duo featuring both Mari Kattman and Matt Echo is nothing short of a musical morning coffee, and what they are offering up with their beautiful new album titled Hover, is an emotionally charged album filled with glorious moments of musical depth and song mastery.
Opening with the track titled Full Of Light, Mari Kattman wastes no time in introducing their unique sound to the masses, and showing the listeners why they deserve all the attention they are getting. With inspired moments reminiscent of the greats like Juno Reactor, Skinny Puppy, and Massive Attack, Full Of Light sounds as if it deserves to be placed on a Hollywood movie soundtrack, and definitely on your next workout mix. The vocals are devious and sexy, and the Tron-like beat is otherworldly, and as far as album openers go, this is a lesson in how it should be done.
Following in the footsteps of Full Of Light can’t be an easy task, but Mari Kattman pulls it off with the dark and emotional track Heart Over Mind. This song opens in a beautifully epic way, whether it be a guitar riff, or a synth emulating a guitar, it works well in making sure that one song does not blend arbitrarily into the next. Heart Over Mind truly shines the moment the chorus comes in and everything sinks a bit into a gritty headspace. The echo on the vocals might be a bit overdone at times, which can happen when a singer with a strong voice leans to heavy on unnecessary effects; but that is only my opinion and not meant to take away from the song itself.
Later on in the album we come to a song called Invisible, it is hard to say if this song slows the pace down, as Trip Hop can be tricky in how fast a slow song can actually be, but as far as the albums chosen ballad goes, this is the track I choose. The vocals are still a bit heavy on the effects, but at this point I can see that that is kind of Mari Kattman’s thing. It works, but it can be a bit distracting at times. As with all the other songs, the production value is great, the song writing is on point with the trip hop genre.
Hover is a true musical gem, with every song being its own unique journey, with that being said, the unique tracks do share some all too formulaic moments, and perhaps a bit too heavy on the vocal effects far too often than needed; but if you like Trip Hop, beautiful singing, and something to get you pumped up for the day ahead, then look no further than Mari Kattman’s new album Hover.
8/10
Mari Kattman: Facebook|Soundcloud
