In my effort to uncover some facts about Marianne Keith I searched the web from previous reviews of her earlier albums to myspace to her official website and in the end all I really discovered about this artist is that her humble roots began in my old hometown of Redlands, California. Other then that Keith has received an award in Orange County as an up and comer and likes to name her guitars. So off of my experience with her album, Cathartic I can honestly say she has a beautiful voice and is a strong songwriter. With that being said how does the album hold up? 

Marianne Keith’s Cathartic is a prime example of the saying less is more. While the album has some fantastic qualities the decision to attempt a variety of styles from pop to country to indie simply doesn’t allow the album to flow properly. There are moments of fluidity on the album but very few and far between. The only way to truly tackle the album is to figure out what songs you’d like to hear in order and load them into your mp3 player as such (as I did). Listened to in the order in which you enjoy most will help you grasp the fact that Keith is a great singer/songwriter and when focused to her strengths (in my opinion her ballads and country style tracks) has put together an album that is quite fine but maybe just a tad bit to long. The tracks that seem to weigh down the album really would have been better off as b-sides, worthy enough to be considered rare tracks with enough power to help boost singles sales for this particular artist.

Websites that I pursued in search of information have listed Sheryl Crowe, Fiona Apple, Jewel, and Tori Amos as artists that sound similar. As always music is very specific and what one person may hear out of an artist will differ from another and as a fan or former fan of all of the artists above except for Crowe I want to say no. Keith is powered by her songwriting and the conviction that exudes from her emotional deliveries, a prime example would be track 14, Hate. The level of control in her vocal delivery is crafted but as the song builds up the mood becomes stronger drawing you in and making you believe this isn’t just some song being slapped on an album but a message to someone out there in the world. While the same can be said about the other artists Keith simply manages to distance herself from comparison by simply trying to sound like no one else but herself. In the end it really all comes down to what you want to hear. Cathartic is, all around, aimed at fans of the singer/songwriter genre so if that’s your style you should eat this up. As always the final decision is yours to make so be sure to check Marianne Keith out at any of the links provided and enjoy.