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Marshall Potts’ new album, The Storm is a collection of songs dedicated to finding hope and healing. Hailing from Kamloops, BC, considered by the Dalai Lama the center of the universe, faith and spirituality is a definitive source of inspiration for this album. Fantastically blurring the lines between americana, country and rock, Marshall delivers a message of salvation through one’s faith and resilience. Accepting the present and continuing despite painful truths is a resonating theme and inspiration throughout this album.
The album starts with “Free and Easy”, a soulful track about spiritual introspection as key to salvation. The song starts with cascading twangy chords delivering an upbeat hopeful feeling as Potts realizes the importance of feeling needed, “I need to feel, feel like I am needed.” The song has a melancholic look on time being wasted but not losing hope and insisting on looking at the future with hope, “maybe tomorrow it’s gonna be alright “. The song has a strong message of deliverance and hope: a message of fighting through the cage the mind can trap you in. A soulful riff ends the song as a feeling of renewed hope over washes you, almost as if you are at the end of climbing an impossibly high mountain, “and the lights went down, I was lost and found, you were next to me.”
The album takes a turn with a broody song, “Storm”. Twangy chords again reappear, a perfect background to Potts’ raspy deep voice. This song is about the importance of saving yourself. Potts is singing to a loved one, desperately trying to wake them up from their loops of self- destruction, “didn’t I hold you…you couldn’t feel me…I couldn’t heal you.” The storm becomes a metaphor for bringing out repressed grief, the wind bringing about a needed change, “when the wind comes it bring change (we are worlds apart), and only truth alone remains, cause it reveals your pain.” The stretched use of melismas to emphasize these emotional lyrics are soulfully carried by Potts’ voice. The vocals give this song a haunting feeling; it’s hard to not reminisce of those you had to let go of.
Continuing the theme of hope, “Change” is a much-needed song during these hectic times. This time Potts’ vocals are softer; it almost feels like a lullaby. This song inspires change, “we have to change, for a better world, so let’s get going.” The soft but melodic chords resound a feeling of joy for the possible future. The melodies are soothing, hopeful, but also vivid enough to remind us that it’s up to us to make a significant change.
In “I Like The Fall”, Potts continues his message of hope, narrating an ode to strength. Potts reminds you of the importance of relying on strength and the mind to get out of dark times. Twangy chords once again accompany Potts’ soothing vocals, “I wish you could see, what I’ve been seeing, what you’ve been dreaming about, it’s a world where love, fills our mind and clears the cloud of doubt.” The song is an uplifting message to never give up and remember there’s always something waiting at the horizon. The song slows toward the end, with vocals fading, giving it a haunting feeling of taking a dive in the unknown.
In “Rope”, the album takes a darker but redeeming turn. Potts juxtaposes the lively beats of trumpets and upbeat chords to lyrics showing broken man struggling to resist his self-destructive urges, “struggle to survive, this rope around my neck, around my neck, come for me when I am gone, come for me, but don’t wait too long, she’s got what I need, she’s gonna come for me.” The song is tragic but maintains the theme of redemption; it ultimately leads to a point of salvation. The melodies of this tune are reminiscent of a soulful gospel service, inspiring and hopeful. Potts sings of a heroine coming to help him as he’s struggling to let go of his demons. Ultimately, the tag war between hopelessness and holding on to the future is won.
Potts’ new album is an unforgettable collection of diverse melodies and genres coming together to tell the ubiquitous story of life happening and the resilience to always find a way to tomorrow.
Reviewed by Sara Michael
