Thursday, August 13, 2009

Bare Love To Bare Soul by El Mars




El Mars, aka Raimonds Gusarevs, is one fantastic song writer. This album of his, Bare Love To Bare Soul, is a great example of superb song creation. At times he reminds me of Beirut. At other times I am reminded of one of the most beloved movies of our time, Amelie. I’m even sometimes reminded of Flight of the Conchords! (There are only a few times when that actually applies.) His guitar work mixes with his vocals quite well. He is also a wonderful lyricist. I am told a story as I listen to Bare Love To Bare Soul. This album is calm and collected, well structured, and quite enjoyable; I’ve listened to it around seven times in just two days. There are a lot of good songs on this album and altogether, it’s very sound and secure as a whole, not to mention that this album is a progressing story from start to finish. My favorite tracks on this album are tracks 4 (“Painting Horses As They Dance Their Nights Away”), 5 (“Carving Images”), 7 (“Stars And The Sand”), and 11 (“Bare Love”) stand out to me the most, even though all of the songs on Bare Love To Bare Soul are solid songs. “Painting Horses As They Dance Their Nights Away” is a really nice and calm track. It makes me feel like I am sitting on a porch, looking out at a wonderful sunset, sitting with those I feel strongest about, just in utter happiness. “Carving Images” resonates the sounds of Beirut the most, but it is still a unique track on it’s on. Raimonds does a good job creating a heartwarming song where nothing in it makes me feel negativity. In “Stars And The Sand” he creates a solemn sounding track with a dreary voice and low-lying guitar. It still remains as one of the stronger tracks on the album however. His guitar layering in this song is fantastic. “Bare Love” is by far my favorite song on Bare Love To Bare Soul. Raimonds Gusarevs created a song that I am probably going to love for the rest of my love. This song is so incredibly good. His guitar work mixes so well with the vocal layering he does in “Bare Love” and my heart just explodes with happiness from this musical masterpiece. When you come across a song like this, you don’t forget it. Instead, you want to share it with those that are closest to you, sharing the joy you have just felt from such a striking transmission of sound. This final track is definitely the most complete track on the album. It’s always good to end on a strong note and our friend, Raimonds Gusarevs, aka El Mars, does just that. This is definitely something everyone should experience. Even just one listen to this album will get you hooked. You’ll be glad you listened. I’m actually going to go tell my girlfriend and all my friends about it now!

http://www.myspace.com/elmarsmusic

UPDATE: Okay, so the more and more I listen to this album, the more and more I love it. I was showing my friends this stuff and realized how much I really enjoy it. Raimonds Gusarevs, you are brilliant. This music is wondrous. Keep it up!! (P.S. Everyone should check this out.)

1 comment:

Series Two Records said...

This might have been the 100th review possibly or close to it :P

congrats Stephen!