New York alternative/indie musician Amber Mark started out her career with a simple Soundcloud upload. Influenced by many different musical magicians, such as Michael Jackson and Ella Fitzgerald, to the more niche German performer Stan Getz, Amber really knows how to create a musical masterpiece.
May 12, 2017, saw the release of Amber’s debut EP 3:33am. A seven track EP, that really shows off Amber’s versatility, vocals and potential mass appeal.
The song “S P A C E” features on the EP, and was Ambers first upload to Soundcloud that got her the attention her music needs. An intro of rhythmic clapping leads into the R&B vocals of Miss Mark. Deep and darkened drum beats fill the song up, adding an atmospheric glow to the pop-infused lyrics of this striking track. An excellent song to sway to, sing to, dance to and appreciate its immersive beats.
“Regret“. Something we all feel, and can relate to. A relaxed and sensual beginning, takes us into a song that allows the listener to take in the beautiful falsetto of Amber. This song is a chilled out, magnetic, emotion filled fusion of heartbreak, ‘regret’ and astonishing vocals. I feel like this is a track you could certainly listen to at ‘3:33am’. A song that has a breath-taking romantic nostalgia flooded into its core. Extremely engaging.
The next track to grace my ears is “Lose My Cool“. A dramatic, staccato piano driven track that combines a crisp collection of many different genres. As the songs piano kick off is faded out, a bubbly upbeat section is flung into the track. This song gets you moving straight away.
Reviewing this track was a real challenge, because I genuinely couldn’t stop my shoulders from shimmying. This is a sassy, fiery track with a fabulously catchy beat. Lyrics such as ‘I just need to speak my brain’, use a clever musical technique to really stick in your mind; the music, and vocals magically rise on those lyrics, forcing you to do nothing else but sing along and embrace the excellence. What a song.
“Journey Into The Unknown” is another song on the smashing debut EP. This track uses almost progressive, high-pitched tones, dramatically mixed in with Amber’s voice, and a heavily intense piano to nail this song into the soul of its listeners. Just when you think the song isn’t going anywhere, you start to hear rain (I know, how random). We then hear a woman’s voice, mumbling in a different language.
Very tricky to understand, but certain phrases stand out when the unknown character speaks in English. Phrases such as “I want to tell a story but I’m a bit drowsy from the medication“, fill me with intrigue about a song that is literally doing what it says on the tin; taking me on a journey into the unknown. I feel like this song can be interpreted in so many ways. You can truly feel such pain within this piece. Its extraordinary. Smart. Sad. Unsettling. You need to hear it.
Hoping for a more relaxed song after my journey into the unknown, I was flung into the next track, “Monsoon“. This song is a sensational tribute to Amber’s late mother, Mia Mark. Amber’s voice is so calming, freeing and incredible on this track. Her vocals echo into your heart, fill your eyes with tears and send shivers down your spine. I listened to this song with goose bumps on my arms and pain in my heart for Amber. This song makes you feel so much. It’s truly wonderful in a terribly heart-breaking fashion.
The final two songs on the EP are “Can You Hear Me?” and “Way Back“. “Can You Hear Me?” is an upbeat song of self-expression. Lyrics such as “got to deal with all of this pain and without you it’s not the same“, could be Amber singing about her Late Mother Mia.
The song then slows down in the middle, and Amber echoes “Oh mother can you hear me“, her vocal cracks and the pain she is portraying fully comes across. Whatever or whoever Amber is singing about here, it’s another well produced, spine-tingling track to add to the EP that will send Amber into the Stratosphere.
“Way Back“, the final song. The piano instrumental at the start really reminds me of the piano at the start of Sigma’s ‘Nobody to Love’. This shows us that Amber Mark is current. She fits in with the trends, yet she adds her own twist onto every single song that she has written and produced.
The magical thing, is that Amber’s voice is also sensational. Not all artists have everything. Some can sing gorgeously, some can write perfect lyrics, and some sound great on a record. Amber Mark has all three. Now that’s something special.
Buy 3:33am, the debut EP from Amber Mark on iTunes here.
Words by Stephanie Penman
