MaryAnne Muglia—Try Hard

I'd seen many of MaryAnne's Instagram posts, with her doing covers at the piano, and I think my favourite was her version of Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now". As I sometimes do with Instagram posters, I checked her out on YouTube Music, the streaming service I use, and found she'd released an album. It was pretty much a no-brainer that I was going to review it.

The album opens with "Little Existence" and, while I enjoyed her vocals, the song was pleasant enough without really grabbing me. I think much of this was due to the effect placed on her vocals. In the Instagram posts, her voice is very much stripped back and pure, and I think to a certain degree that's what I was expecting from the album. Perhaps I'd already created an expectation in my head of what MaryAnne's music was going to sound like.

I loved the opening guitar on "I Am Not the Same" and was again perhaps hoping for more stripped back vocals. I'm thinking this is probably going to be a common theme throughout the album, so I think I'll have to learn to park that expectation and do a reset. I did like this track, though. It has a nice ambling feel, which reminded me of another track, although frustratingly that track just won't present itself to me.

Rocking things up a bit, "What You Wanna See" has very prominent drums, which give the song a nice pace. There's a little more energy here, and it helps the album begin to show some of the different directions MaryAnne is willing to explore.

With a more laid-back, almost jazz feel is "Crazy for You". There's no denying the 70s influence, with this being a track I could very well have expected to hear on the radio all those years ago. It has that relaxed quality that makes it feel familiar without necessarily sounding like it's simply trying to recreate the past.

As soon as the piano started on "Glass Machine", I have to admit to feeling a little excited. Simple piano, stripped-back vocals and wonderful, subtle strings, this is very much what I was expecting when I first came across the album. There's a real intimacy to it, and without the production getting in the way, MaryAnne's voice is allowed to take centre stage. For me, this is where the album really started to click.

"Try Hard" opens with an almost funky beat and stands out again as something a little different from the previous tracks. It moves into a rockier feel, not before there's a subtle dystopian shift, and then returns to that funkier sound. It's a very interesting track, particularly because it doesn't seem content to settle into one particular mood.

I wasn't quite sure about "We're Not Friends". It has a lackadaisical pace and doesn't really seem to go anywhere. Perhaps that's deliberate, but for me it left me waiting for something that never quite arrived.

Again, when "Forget I Ask" started, I knew this was going to be a track more to my liking. It's not as strong as "Glass Machine", but it's more in keeping with the direction I would have chosen for the album. There's something about the more restrained approach that seems to suit MaryAnne's voice particularly well.

Another track that starts with simple guitar, "For a Lifetime" again gives MaryAnne a chance to shine vocally. As it unfurls, it turns into an interesting track, with a seemingly wonderful ability to suspend time. There was a moment when I was listening and I became almost oblivious to everything else around me. That's something I really appreciate in music, when a song manages to create its own little space and, for a few minutes, you're simply inside it.

My ears really pricked up with "In My Mind". It starts with what sounds like a drone and then the vocals come in, providing another layer as the track builds into something quite interesting. It then morphs into a more conventional track, but those continuing elements remain, giving it a slightly unusual quality. For me, it's a great track and a great way to close the album.

Initially, I think I had a hard time with the album because of my preconceived expectations. There's no denying MaryAnne has a beautiful voice, and I think I just wanted to revel in it in the same way I had when listening to those stripped back Instagram performances. When the album presented me with something different, I was probably judging it against something that was never really intended to be the template.

Once I managed to park that expectation, there was a lot more to appreciate. There's a good variety here, from the more conventional pop and rock moments through to the jazzier and funkier influences, but it's the quieter, more intimate tracks that ultimately drew me in the most.

There's a lot to love about the album, and also a few gems that really stood out for me. And perhaps that's the thing about discovering an artist in one particular setting. Sometimes you arrive at the album with an idea of what you're going to hear, only to find something different waiting for you. In this case, I'm glad I gave myself the opportunity to reset those expectations and simply listen to what MaryAnne was actually offering.