17. Review of Upcoming Single, Romeo, by Marlee Quirarte
Originally published July 23rd, 2024
Coming out of Orange County, California, Marlee Quirarte is an R&B independent artist who is hoping to make the transition to full time musician. Originally from Kansas City, Missouri, Quirarte gains inspiration from her father and sisters and their shared love for R&B and Jazz. Quirarte mixes her unique sound by drawing inspiration from artists like Billy Joel, Sade, and Solange.
Since releasing her debut EP, When I'm Alone, in 2017, Marlee Quirarte has released a steady stream of EP’s and singles; most recently her 2023 release of the 4 song, 13 minute Intentions.
Marlee hopes to one day participate in national and international tours, collaborate with fashion designers, and also collaborate with industry artists like Pharrell.
Quirarte’s new single, Romeo will be released on all streaming platforms, like Spotify, on July 26th, with a music video releasing on August 2nd.
Romeo
“Romeo” is an R&B ballad that runs at just over 3 minutes. Inspired by Baz Luhrman’s unique interpretation of Shakespeare’s historically famed tragedy, “Romeo and Juliet,” Quirarte says, “To me, this is one of the most sincere depictions of the process of love and live and those are things I love to create art around.”
“Romeo” was written and produced by Quirarte, RGB, and Raven Perry; engineered by Perry, and Mastered by Thaddeus Moore at Liquid Mastering.
When I read the synopsis of this song, my interest was peaked. I remember being a 15 year old freshman in high school with an extra-credit assignment to go watch Baz Luhrmann's film, “William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet.” With a team full of freshman from my 9th grade English class, we sat and watched a gun-wielding, car-chasing, Hawiiian shirt-wearing, huge back-tattooed priest sporting action-packed romance like never before told with the caveat that the lines from Shakespeare’s play were unaltered. Most of those 9th grade kids hated that movie. They didn’t get it. I loved it. The sweeping, chaotic cinematography. The comical, over-the-top acting to give a sense of psychotic breakpoints, the unbelievable romantic chemistry between Leo and Claire Danes. And it was this 15 year old kid’s first introduction to those boys from Oxford, Radiohead. I was obsessed. I owned the movie, the soundtrack, and yes. I even went through a phase where I started wearing Hawaiian shirts. In fact, I too wrote a song about this movie!
About the Music
Marlee Quirarte’s ballad “Romeo,” is a beautiful, nostalgic nod to the romance of the movie. There is one particular song on the soundtrack called “I'm Kissing You,” that is performed by Des’ree. It is a melodic ballad performed by an alto singer with a commanding voice. Here, we have the same context, though this is the only thing that relates the two songs. Quirarte uses layering, synthetic string effects, a simple and subtle programmed beat, gently arpeggiated guitars and a piano to support her vocal performance. Vocally, she is a second alto and uses every bit of her lower range.
While writing this review, I took the opportunity to listen to Quirarte’s entire catalog available on Spotify. It is my opinion that, though there is not a single bad song on her resume, I think the writing and performance was actually stronger with her earlier work. The production certainly has progressed and she is experimenting more with her sound, but there is something raw and edgy about her first two EP’s. And “Know Me.” (That song is an absolute banger, by the way).
The thing I like about “Romeo” is that it seems to have the same energy as those first two EP’s. It is an older R&B sound. The production of the record is just giving us Quirarte’s voice; no ornamentation using effects like auto tuning or vocoder (though those kinds of things can be nice and interesting), and her voice carries!
Lyrics
Lyrically, Quirarte dons the role of the fair young Capulet, Juliet. Lyrically, she dissects the incredibly powerful performance a sixteen year old Claire Danes gave us back in 1996. “I gaze deep in your eyes, like water/ Take me to the places you’ll be/ Can’t wait to see/ Tell me how you feel about me/Romeo, oh Romeo.” This verse to me, represents the first conversation between the young pair as they meet and kiss for the first time in Juliet’s family swimming pool.
“Til we’re gone forever yours, please don’t leave me alone. We were stuck we had no hope/ Now we’re free/ We’re free to go/ I gaze deep into your eyes.” I think this is a well-thought first person inter monologue of what Juliet may have been feeling in the climactic and tragic ending of this story; with the words “I gaze deep into your eyes,” leaving the listener in shock as they make sense of this melancholy denouement (no spoilers for those who’ve been living under rocks).
Final Thoughts
I think this is a beautiful song. I don’t think the lower male and female vocal ranges are appreciated in popular music nearly enough today. Yes, there are some who are the exception; like Miley Cyrus, who Marlee Quirarte vocally resembles on some of her earlier releases. But not enough, I say! This piece showcases a very beautiful and fluid alto voice.
I have no issues with the vocal performance. I will say, on a production standpoint, I thought the vocals are coming out of the track a little bit hot. The difference in volume is just a touch distracting in a couple of places. The same goes for the ratio of gain between the lead and background vocals. It in no way sounds bad and may even just be a personal preference.
The same goes for the lyrics. The writer has done a wonderful job of translating the emotion audiences see when watching the film. There is enough ambiguity to let the listener create scenarios with their imaginations and reference to navigate the point of the story. These were subtle lyrics and yet, well thought out.
I have enjoyed getting to know the work of Marlee Quirarte. She is poised to do great things musically. I encourage everybody reading to make sure to stream “Romeo” this Friday, June 26th on all streaming platforms everywhere!
Also, don’t forget there is a music video releasing after the single. August 2nd, keep an eye out for “Romeo,” on platforms like YouTube.
If you want to find out more about Marlee Quirarte, you can check her out on each of her social media profiles:
Well written.... will be checking this one out
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment, David! You should definitely give it a listen this Friday! Also, be sure to check out the music video release next Friday as well!
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