a Mark Manthei listening session

Year : 2012
Genre : Massively Acoustic Flexible Rock
Label : Independent
Origin : Canada
Official site : >-here-<

Canadian Mark Manthei is a man on the mission to circulate adept levels of massively acoustic emotional transfer that which sounds to occupy an interesting intersection between Brian Adams and the alternative rock direction of the early '90s - especially Pearl Jam.

The demeanor is morose, yet not bitter like two proper Tom Waits fans are after a bourbon bath, and the realization is exigently natural throughout, with no fear exhibited towards - well - exhibiting . This kind of music simply looks less appealing when deprived of its tints of acoustic roughness, and it is very easy to appreciate how the more "crowded" songs - from a production standpoint - compliment the cumulative, smartly contained mellowness which emerges as a fine consensus between the various instruments. Luckily, the lyrical themes never bow down to an urge to serve out instant mainstream pop appeals, instead, Mark Manthei utilizes his steady mid-range vocal talents and war-thorn-but-ballsy-as-ever acoustic guitars to narrate the kind of personal sentiments that pack sufficient thought and emotion amidst their silhouettes so they are more intriguing to relate towards than the lightweight-rhetorics of dangerless bonfire warfare. Read on to know more about this artist.

As noted, while Mark Manthei's voice occupies a mid-range register, he is not afraid to explore his extremes, as he does in his cover version of "Say it to me now" by Glen Hansard, for example. In said song, Manthei releases The Animal, and, luckily, the rendition keeps the magic not only intact but quite operative, and the deficits in tonality actually warrant a more powerful listening experience, which always is the hallmark of a talented artist. We were talking about extremes, and it is just natural that a variant on the other spectrum similarly IS due - Manthei brings to you a cover of the Nine Inch Nails classic "Hurt", yet, as you probably have guessed already, he approaches this declaration from the same direction Johnny Cash did via his ultra-powerful cover. As it turns out, Mark's singing voice weighs in apt and credible even when the name of the game is an uncompromising and thorough look into a world in which a friend might not be more loyal than a mercenary - you pay your debts with kindness. An acoustic guitar worth calling one handles a penumbra no problem.

The musician who is not productive, simply is : not REALLY one. The type of music Mark Manthei primarily is into, flows from him effortlessly and powerfully, as it is evident that he is not at all concerned with what and how exactly you think of him or, of his art, and that is the hardest (p)art, terrible pun totally intended. Not concerning yourself all that much with the impression you are capable to bestow upon an audience is one thing, which does not equate failing to attempt to do anything in your power to entertain them utterly and thoroughly. Manthei, luckily enough, has a keen affection to find exotic chords on his guitar, yet never quite abuses them to the level from which on they would taint the premises of comfortable approachability.

A healthy amount of the tracks that are available on the official SoundCloud site, which I will link you to later on, are guitar-acapella statements, yet a nice dosage of collaborative efforts are observable, too : the production on these tracks are beefy and not afraid to explore the extremes of the given sonic volumetrics. "Blown Away Rough Demo", for example : reeks Pearl Jam from a galactic mile - Manthei's prolonged vocal notes are soaked into Eddie Vedder like there is no tomorrow, and why not, when the effect is not only convincing, but, more importantly : "just" natural.

 Check out Mark Manthei's official SoundCloud site : >-here-<

GyZ at Bandcamp.

If you want, check out my music

and / or

Buy me beer.