Mariana Bell— As Good As Mainstream Gets

I have known Mariana Bell’s music for a few years now. She had been recommended by a few musicians around Charlottesville, Virginia as one to watch. Americana was breaking out all over then, though I could never quite put my finger on what exactly it was supposed to be, but the vast majority of musicians wanted to be it regardless of what I thought. So I made contact with Ms. Bell expecting some sort of Americana-ish diva, drowning in accordions, banjos or God knows what else.

To my surprise, she was not even close. She may have played an acoustic guitar and even written a few grass roots songs, but she was pure Pop. I was delighted! At that point in time, if you were Pop and had no backing, you were dead in the water. No label would look at you and every Pop diva who did make it had big money behind them. Without money, you could hardly get booked!

But there was something about her I found intriguing. She was bucking the odds, sticking with what her heart demanded and swimming against the current. So I sat back and listened and rooted for her. Each release gave me new hope and whereas she wasn’t completely swept under the bus, she didn’t do as well as I’d hoped. I personally think it had to do with lack of promotion as much as anything. Yet she never gave up. Music is in her blood, I guess.

So along comes this new five-song EP, Uncanny Valley, and I thought of writing her story in music, from first release, Dream of Italy (2003) through The Mariana Bell EP (2006) and Book (2008) and Push (2010) and The Caroline EP (2013), all the way to the new album, Uncanny Valley. It took me five minutes to come to my senses. I had already written reviews for three of the earlier albums and they were good reviews… well enough written, anyway. But no, this will be about the new album. I will post the other reviews separately.

Bell makes me want to, though. If I have learned anything on this journey through life it is that there is always a story, especially for artists. For a number of years I cyber-stalked her, not in a creepy way but in an I-need-to-make-sure-I-didn’t-miss-something way. If I didn’t hear anything for awhile, I messaged, just out of curiosity. If I did hear something, I wrote about it. Some musicians warrant the attention. Mariana Bell is one.

I have never been disappointed, either. Album or EP, I reveled in the music. In the process. In the progress. Each release stands on its own. It’s not like Bell was striving for endgame. She put nothing but her best on tape each time and it showed. But with each album, I noticed a change, in maybe the process? Her commitment to melody, always constant, gives way to her commitment to making music from the heart and soul.

At this point, I look upon Uncanny Valley as a triumph. I have been a true fan of Mainstream Pop since the advent of Michelle Branch and her ilk and that is Bell’s forte. Melody, harmony, vocal and musical arrangement. She has been honing it for years and has done it far better than most from the beginning. She has developed into a real pro when it comes maximizing the whole package, beginning to end.

It may be only five songs but I guarantee you that these five are among the best pop songs you will have heard this year. “Avalanche” certainly is, a floating intro leading into a chorus worthy of any of the Pop divas of the last ten or twenty years. And hear me when I say that the followup, “Dying Sutra”, is a bookend to what The Jill Stevenson Band laid down on their self-titled EP. (I wish I knew where Jill is these days… her songs are among my favorites). “Gypsy Caravan” is classic Bell, her voice controlling and at moments downright gripping. “Big City Love” is as country as I’ve heard her, but it is more the shuffling beat than the music. Like I said. She’s pure Pop. And “Wild”? Slinky but not, you know?

Here is a link to Bell’s Soundcloud page. “Dying Sutra” is the only track from the new EP, but you can scroll a number of songs from previous works.

https://soundcloud.com/marianabell

The songs? I have them all. That’s why I believe in her. Hasn’t let me down yet.

Purchase from cdBaby… https://store.cdbaby.com/Artist/MarianaBell