Marshall Potts, the Americana and country artist from British Columbia, is releasing his second full-length studio album with Spectra Music Group, The Storm. The album is full of light and positivity and speaks wisely on current anxieties and unrest.
The album opens with slow and almost spiritual instrumentation and captivating vocals in “Free and Easy”. In this track, Potts sings about going through a hard time and looking forward to brighter days ahead. With lines like “Maybe tomorrow it’s gonna be alright” and “I wanna feel like I’m needed” and his emotional vocals, this track holds so much meaning. The song’s bridge consists of choir vocal harmonizations and Potts repeating the line “It’s gonna be alright”, the perfect way to carry out this intense opening. The song also carries out some spiritual meaning, mainly shown in the ending of the song when Potts characterizes himself as being “lost and found”.
Potts continues his powerful messages in the album’s third track, “The Change”, which is an upbeat song about appreciating how far you’ve come and all of the good and bad that got you there. Where change can often be hard, Potts embraces it, singing “I don’t believe things can stay the same, ya I believe it has to change.” In what is perhaps my favorite part of the entire album, Potts expands on the themes of the first verse to create a song that speaks to the necessity of unity in creating a better world, as well as the idea that making the world better begins with making ourselves better.- “We have to make a better world. It’s not too late for a better world.” “The Change” is a call to action and an anthem for equality and love.
In “Let it All Go”, the fourth track on the album, Potts puts forward some of his best lyrics yet- “If you don’t learn about yourself; if you don’t heal what’s on the shelf; when your thoughts are no longer in control, and when what you believe, you no longer know.” This passage is by far one of the heights of the album as it brings light to multiple different types of struggles such as growth, healing, and questioning faith. Potts encourages his listeners to look within themselves in order to discover where prejudice comes from and how to heal it. The song’s title is Potts’ way of saying that we can’t grow until we let go of all the things that have held us back. This track clearly has so much deep and personal meaning for Potts and it makes the message that much stronger.
“Let It All Go” is immediately followed by “Heaven or Home”, which is a track much happier sounding in its acoustic instrumentation. “Heaven or Home” is a testament to all of the places in our lives that feel like Heaven. The harmonized background vocals are one of the highlights of this track; they add so much to the blissful energy of this message. Here, Potts continues themes that are prominent throughout the entire album: be grateful for everywhere you’ve been and have unceasing hope for the future.
If you need a little comfort and hope to get you through, The Storm is available to stream now through Spectra Music Group.
Reviewed by Steph Stone
