The Mad Era (Marina) - Incognito EP

The Mad Era (Marina)

Incognito EP
self-released; 2017

​3.6 out of 5

By Dan Weston

I started reading more about The Mad Era. I found that the person behind the music is a pro athlete who made an EP entitled Incognito while in many different hotel rooms. From those facts alone this album should not be as good as it is. 

The six songs are a bit scattered in terms of genre and I found myself appreciating certain styles more than others. As far as production goes it's completely DIY and I was impressed by the mixing. The only thing I suggest in the future is that she consider handing the songs off to a professional mastering engineer to help balance levels on each song and making proper EQ and compression enchantments.. 

The album opens with “Pleasantville” which I thought was the highlight and also the style they seemed to fit best. It’s a synth heavy song reminiscent of a band like The Chromatics. It’s catchy, atmospheric and makes good use of synths. She also has good word play about a rather ubiquitous subject. She sings, “I still got a beat in my heart. There's no place I'd rather start.”

Up next is “Go My Way” which is another success but also more guitar based. The song rocks a little harder but I actually preferred the atmosphere on the previous song. It’s still a catchy tune with a notable hook. More hooks abound on the extremely infectious “I Can Take You Home.” The vocals sound great. Maybe a little low in the mix but the melodies were there. “On The Coldest Night” has less energy, is a little more melancholy and also works wonderfully while “I Got A Secret” is almost dance worthy baring comparisons to a band like Franz Ferdinand. She closes with an instrumental song “Project 1” that needed to balance out volume wise with the other songs. 

​The EP is a collection of loose songs but I thought they were all well delivered and written. If she gets some time off with her athletic pursuits she should consider working with a producer and seeing what else she is capable of. Recommended.

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