Soul/R&B powerhouse Erin Costelo has dropped her latest album, Sweet Marie, off the back of her very successful couple of years with her previous album, Down Below, The Status Quo. The Halifax queen looks to be making similar waves with her latest release as she seamlessly blurs the line between genre and energy. The results are an album fit for both a ballroom and a living room.
“Topic Of Notes” uses a little to say a lot, starting off with nothing but sharp percussion and an occasional bass pluck, making Costelo‘s lyrics all the more alluring. The slow-paced, bassy track is made even more intimate with the inclusion of the lo-fi string piece.
The quasi-titular track, “Introducing Sweet Marie,” sticks with the slower pace as gentle bells and keys pair with Costelo’s angelic voice to lead us into a dreamy lull about loving a woman like Sweet Marie.
“All in Your Head” deviates from the pacing and picks up a bit on the percussion and funk, complete with twangy strings, lo-fi keys, and Costelo’s spunky take on fear. Definitely one of the standouts.
One of the biggest themes in Costelo’s latest appears to be nostalgia, as she uses her versatile talents to reflect on the past more than a few times; be it the organic-sounding “The Sign,” the subtle, bluesy “Shadow,” or “Hands on Fire,” with its curious beat, a background wind instrument with a mind of its own, and a piano that builds us up to Costelo’s energetic spike in the chorus.
Costelo doesn’t shy away from synths either, and is also not afraid to place them in her ballroom-esque, jazzy tracks like “My Love,” highlighted by its shiny, bell-like synths, and “Lights Down Low,” with both a synth pad and a small synth that sounds like the stars.
The standout is “Epilogue.” As we’re introduced to a hypnotically ambient intro, we soon discover that the core of the track stuffed with Costelo’s deep notes and energy spikes, all supported by a light-hearted, jumpy piano piece
Costelo is no stranger to success, with her last album receiving such honours as being shortlisted for the 2017 Folk Music Ontario ACTRA RACS Recording of the Year Award, making the Polaris Prize ‘longer’ list, and being awarded an East Coast Music Award for R&B/Soul Recording of the Year. We wouldn’t be surprised if such success was built upon with Sweet Marie.