#flowerpotrecords

A Review Of Marriah Rodgers’ “the things we got to keep”

Another artist under @flowerpotrecords, Marriah Roders dives into a slow moving full length LP with the opening track “Maps.” The bone chilling keys intro gives the listener a bit of a warning as to what they’re in for. The instrumentation in this track is interesting and Rodgers’ voice sticks to the same melodic lines the entire time. With that said, she makes some juicy choices as far as borrowed notes from other keys. Intentional or not, this is what makes this track worth listening to. 

A typical pop piano playing style opens the following track “Living It All.” This track is the same as the first in that there is little change, making the song about the lyrics. The highlight of this track is what the song is about; Marriah talks about what changes and what doesn't change throughout a person’s life; the people you love, the records you play, et cetera. 

The title track “The Things We Got To Keep” takes the indulgent path via talking about very specific places and actions, which in turn takes the listener on a journey through an imaginary world of emotions and the compromises that hold and break love apart. Marriah’s voice on this track is not what it could be; her focus doesn’t quite match that of the previous tracks. 

“Sabotage” is the exact opposite as far as vocal flexibility goes. Here Marriah shows off more of her head voice. Though at times it is a bit flat, it paints the text well with the single lyric ‘sabotage.’ Unfortunately, the song is so short and doesn’t develop past the initial theme presented.

 “Under My Sun” is a slightly faster moving song with some added melodies, creating a more rounded sound. The best part of this song are the hook-like harmonies on the ‘oooo’ vowel. This is the first time in the album where Rodgers and Meadows gives the listener something to hum to themselves on their drive home. 

“California” is the story of the traveler, and the things they leave behind. What you leave behind feels permanent and as if everyone else is moving on without you. This track has build in the piano and a bit of a climax. Though Rodgers’ voice wanders through the pitches, it still gets the feeling of the track across to the listener.

The track “Uncomfortable” was written by Wes Meadows, Rodgers’ other half on this project, and is a great penultimate track for this album. It creates just a little bit of diversity as far as songwriting goes. 

The final track “Cornerstones And Coffeeshops” tells a story of longing. Rodgers’ talks about searching for someone through different places under different circumstances, all while being reminded of this person by things as little as the smell of a cigarette. This track is a great bookending to the album; it almost ends the way the album begins. 

Overall, this album is good for that long drive home from a place you’ve always wanted to visit, or maybe from the home of that person you’ve been dying to see. This is a contextual album, and makes the most sense depending on the context in which you are listening to it. Rodgers’ and Meadows have proven to be a compatible match musically. 

The vocals and song form are the only two things that can use some work. This is because at times the vocals are out of tune and the forms of the songs are mostly all the same. Perhaps some more variety in the form of each song would help make this album a bit more dynamic. The times where Rodgers’ allows herself to sing higher in her head voice is when she really shines. The chesty heavy low register tends to make her intonation questionable. This is probably because her voice is naturally higher and can sing more freely over the passaggio.