Chris Mardini Releases Out Of Pocket (EP)

The NY-based Mardini is not one to shy away from coming out of nowhere with a grand entrance on – Out Of Pocket, his extremely innovative first EP.  I also checked out a couple of Mardini videos and could not believe my eyes as well as my ears already getting floored by this truly magnificent new breed of artist.  And for such a young musician to be out there getting any traction without going through the usual eyesore of rigmaroles, it is time to take interest before this one gets by you, because it will not disappoint anyone that hears it.

URL: https://www.chrismardinimusic.com/

Not only that, Chris Mardni has a ton of soul and knows how to rock it at the same time, it is not a thing of opinion to me but a matter of opening your ears, which for me is a thing that will never change or the music scene can seem nothing but an out of reach  illusion.  “I’ll Try” opens with enough moxie to fully see where Mardni is coming from as an artist, and where he is going.  I am not going to undermine today’s variety of artists to try and place Mardini above the rest in his age group or anything, but he is miles above most I have heard lately.

The electric vibes of “Retrospective Outlook(REMIX)” begin with a sharp guitar riff that takes advantage of the use of everything from hard rock to shuffles throughout the song, with Chris Mardini pulling out awesome melodies and an over the top chorus.  I am inclined to fit him into the power pop genre, but I take note that he is without peer and cannot be placed into a single genre market.  Mardini has his very own brand and seems to just do what works best for him and that works for me.

By the time you get to “Sleepless” it will be over and you will find the rest to be gravy, it is that good.  I also watched the promo video for this song and was blown away, which led me back to the rest of the tracks in a hurry.  If there’s more out there to be heard like this, I am all for it and will stay on top of it to see if that is the case, because if so I welcome it with no idea where Mardini draws his influences to get such a wild combo of ideas, but he credits it as being a product of the 90s.

“Pockets” is up next with a slight change in the tempo as it slithers in with a techno pattern that doesn’t quit, and Mardini getting more limelight though some of the best lyrics on offer.  “Throw” is the final track but it takes you to the new frontier with some of the most energy put into Out Of Pocket as the outstanding release that it is.  These five tracks compel with more substance as they go, and it just leads you back to Mardini again and again.

Mindy McCall, approved by Nicole Killian