Album Review: Mariam Wants A “Heart To Heart” With You

One of the biggest complaints you will ever hear from everyone in life, including yourself, is how disconnected as a human being you can feel. Maybe, you feel disconnected from moments, lovers, friends, family, dreams, emotions, or, altogether, the essence your being. The point is you do not have a sense of “here and now”, which makes you feel like you are floating in a limbo waiting to land in a destination, and, at the time, not caring if that place is good or bad. You simply want to have a place. Rising songstress Mariam has written a record that encompasses this universal and moral plague of “lonely disconnection”, and created the atmospheric R&B EP Heart To Heart.

In just five tracks, Heart To Heart feels like the rare, euphoric conversations we have when we let walls down, and another person enters our heart to say that he or she shares in our thoughts, pain, and joys. In this scenario, that person is Mariam, whom uses her plush voice to create an safe willingness, on your end, to invest in her sound. Vocally, Mariam feels like a soft, but firm pillow; she is gentle enough for you to lay your listening ear with ease, but strong enough to make sure  that your attention never wanes or strays from her poesy. The singer is forward with her passion for lyricism, and wants listeners to know that every  single word she uses has meaning. From her optimistic, bright track “Be There For You” to her lulling, guitar driven plea for her lover to “Grow” with her, Mariam uses catchy rhythms to attract listeners but poignant lyrics to “seal the deal” for them. By the end of the magnificent, fantastically scoped song “Running”, you will have built a solid relationship with Mariam. She credits her Nigerian heritage for her talents claiming, “Nigerians are natural story tellers, it is an art that is passed down and learned within the family and community, hearing stories has been a prominent fixture in my life just as strong as music. Music is such a powerful way to tell stories and relate to others, and I love how words come together to paint pictures”. Mariam’s capacity to draw listeners to her intimate tales of self-reflection and relationship love gives her easy listening tunes a potent depth.

The most exciting thing about Mariam as a now and future artist is that her narrative style of singing is with virtuous purpose. She wants everyone to feel connected in her personal search for connection to love and life. In the electro-pop soul tracks, “Without You”  and “What I Want” she uses a kicking bassline, breathy annotations, and electronic influences to muster songs that can be easily heard on the radio while being spiritually felt. Often, there are music enthusiasts whom claim radio has no depth compared to the “indie-listens” or “off-the chart” finds, but Mariam shows that songs with friendly, bouncing beats do not diminish words with sentimental foundations. In combining radio worthy sounds with reviving hymnals/ words, she creates hooks and melodies that rejuvenate the soul to feel connected again with its surroundings. The result make Heart To Heart an album that you can sing with friends or play alone as you drive to your next location. Overall, this record will take you out of your limbo and make you feel like you are going somewhere and it will be great. For More Information on Mariam and To Buy Heart To Heart Click Here.