Marion LoGuidice – Tales From The Topside World

Marion Loguidice seems to effortlessly capture emotion in every ounce of Tales From The Topside World. Vocals and style morph and meander throughout creating a vibrant offering, but it’s her ability to create music with feeling which drives it forward. Whilst opener Daybreak is a more pop sounding number, many of the other tracks have a darker vein, reminiscent of Cyndi Lauper and her Sisters Of Avalon/Shine period, perhaps unsurprising given their duet on Marion’s previous album.

However, it’s I Believe In You which really pulls me in, a startling track filled with a fairly simplistic opening melody which swells with the vocals to culminate in a rocky chorus with ‘hit’ written all over it. Meanwhile Burn With Me Tonight sees her slow things a little, each word filled with sorrow. As she sings ‘this fire inside is gonna burn me alive’ I can’t help but feel it’s this which drives the album forward, an inner hunger to express the sometimes inexpressible.

As someone who’s continually unsatisfied which music which seems unaffected by what it means to be human, Marion reaffirms my faith in music with each beat of the album. In short I’d challenge anyone to review Tales From the Topside World and not slip into a feast of hyperbole. That being said, Guru seems to fall fractionally out of sync with the rest of the album and though it’s musically strong, it seems lacking lyrically by comparison.

Nevertheless Marion has created an album which goes from strength to strength, and in a just world should move her career up a notch. Irrespective of whether that happens, Marion can rest happy that she’s produced an album which captures both the rise and fall of existence, and transforms them into musical numbers which transcend time and place.

www.marionsmusic.com