Marella - “Salem”
Los Angeles, California-based singer-songwriter Marella has just released the rich and contemplative indie folk track, “Salem.”
“Salem” ebbs and flows with a wonderful sense of ease. For the rhythmic foundation, the track relies on the palm-muted fingerpicked tones of acoustic guitar. As soon as the song opens, it sets a laidback, intimate, and mellow atmosphere that draws its listener into the composition. A gentle drum groove pushes the track forward whilst a bass warmly supports underneath. The arrangement is, at first, pleasingly stripped back with only touches of piano soothingly sustaining, helping to enhance the contemplative mood of the track.
As “Salem” progresses, layers are added tenderly as a means to support the storytelling lyrics. Whether it is the gliding, expressive lap steel, clean, melting, reverberated tones of electric guitar, or the velvety, articulated trumpet which elegantly solos over the track’s latter half, there is always something occurring to provide copious servings of ear candy.
The vocal performance of Daniel Marella is full of emotional nuance as he intimately delivers the lyrics. Supported throughout by doubling and harmonising layers, there is an authentic and pleasingly reflective simplicity and elegance to the performance.
Lyrically, the track explores the theme of a turbulent relationship. On the track, Marella adds: “This song challenged me to get out of my normal alternative rock writing style and pushed me into the indie-folk realm more than I’ve ever been before. I teamed up with my producer Max Bienert and trumpet players Lucian Mahan and Ellie Olson to turn what once was a mistake into ‘Salem.’”