It’s especially rough for young women working in this idiom, I think, mostly because there’s so damn many of ‘em. Go to any college town in this once-great nation of ours and I guarantee that you will be unable to swing a bicycle messenger bag without braining a woman under the age of 25 strumming a six-string acoustic guitar in pursuit of a purer truth, or something like it. Coffee shops, quads, dorm rooms, public parks – when the weather is fine, out they come. To be sure, there are an equal number of young men engaged in the same pursuit… well, actually, a lot of those young men are really pursuing the young women. Truth is dandy, but getting into someone’s pants will trump it every time.

All of which is my half-assed, roundabout way of introducing today’s victim subject, Matchbooks, Diamonds, Mixtapes by Ali Marcus. It’s another one of those self-produced self-released internet-only deals, just like last time.

I’ve been poking this review with a stick for over a month now. No, really. That’s a ridiculously long time for something like this; I can usually turn ‘em around in 2 to 3 weeks, sometimes even less. Not often, but it has happened. So why is this one taking so much longer?

*sigh*

Truth is, I’ve been fumbling around trying to find a way to write about it without sounding patronizing, condescending, or some combination thereof. Call it a critical crisis of faith, if you will; while I don’t want to pull any punches, neither do I want to be any more of an asshole than is truly necessary. Marcus approached me herself for the review, and has been very patient in awaiting it (aside from a little well-deserved toe-tapping), so I’ve decided that I’m just gonna have to jump in and wrap it up. Strap yourselves in and let’s go.

Marcus has a pleasant singing voice, very sweet and very much “girl next door”, which is a blessing and a curse. I think it works best for her when she sticks to her lower register, for the most part. Also, a slower tempo seems to suit her. Songs like “The Truth”, “The Ocean” and “This City”, aside from being quite pretty, show her voice off at its best. My only critique here would be that occasionally she sounds… well, somewhat tense. At times during “Traveler’s Lament”, for example, she just seems to be pushing too hard. Might just be nerves, I don’t know, but there is a sense of tension in the voice from time to time that doesn’t sound intentional. On the whole, though, it’s a pleasant listening experience.

Marcus’ playing is pretty strong. There are only so many sounds that can be wrung out of an acoustic guitar, and she does a nice job of keeping the sound varied. The production is squeaky clean, too. She really does sound as if she’s sitting in the room across from you.

So far, not much to dither about, right? Well, now we come to the lyrics.

Honestly, lyrics are generally the last thing I pay attention to. These, however, are pretty hard to ignore. You can attempt to hide a weak lyric with production tricks or full band noise, but in this setting there really is nowhere to run. And the lyrics are, by and large, on the weak side. Not bad, I hasten to add; there’s nothing utterly cringeworthy. I just find myself wishing she’d dig a little deeper and maybe try some topics that haven’t become well-worn by now, or at least try to find new ways of covering them.

“Yard Sale” is definitely a step in the right direction. It shows a bit of a sense of humor – something otherwise missing from Matchbooks, Diamonds, Mixtapes. But please, no more like “Hungarian Pastry Shop”. Not wanting to harsh, but it sounds like the results of an English 101 assignment: write about your favorite public place. Not that the idea is a bad one, but the execution, in this case, is lacking. “Someone’s reading a novel while another’s writing on of their own / one day to be read in this same room / Someone’s father studied here and now his child’s grown / one day to be fed in this same room”. Aside from being a little clunky, there’s not really much in the way of insight, is there?

Much of the other lyrics seem to deal with that ol’ standby, inter-personal relationships. Always a great source for material. If you want to do it right, though, you need to go beyond the easy platitudes (an example, from “The Truth” – "I thought that if I told the truth, that everything would be / but nothing is the way it seems and nothing is for free”) and really explore your inner space. I’m not asking for People magazine-style barrel-scraping, but if you’re going to open up your personal life for inspection, give us something to take away from the experience. I don’t know how old Marcus actually is, but (and I mean this in the least condescending way possible) she sounds really young.

Even as I typed that last sentence, my 25-year-old self was vibrating with impotent rage and wanting desperately to tear my 45-year-old self a new ass. I hated shit like that when I was younger. Be that as it may, I get the feeling that a few more emotional scars will probably make her a better songwriter. That’s an incredibly callous thought, and I don’t really wish it upon her (or anyone else, aside from a few old ex-girlfriends). But it is the truth, as far as I can see it.

While comparisons are indeed odious, I will risk one here: for all that Aaron McMullan’s reach exceeds his grasp, at least he’s reaching; Marcus needs to reach a bit more, and to be willing to fall on her ass in the process. I’ve read her blog, so I know that she can turn a phrase. My advice to her, for whatever that might be worth, is to loosen up a bit, both vocally and lyrically. The more fun she has, the more her listeners will, too.

But don’t just take my word for it. She’s made the album available for download, absolutely free. Check it out for yourself. You might just get in on the ground floor of something amazing; at the very least you’ll have a couple of decent tunes to stick on your next mix disc. These days, that’s not a bad deal at all.