Mark Steiner--Broken
Review By Christine Dunleavy

One night, as I was riding the train I sat there staring out the window and listened to this album for the first time, and it struck right in to me as I gazed at the world pass by. I had honestly been anticipating this album for a while and it definitely delivered with all of the vehemence that I had expected. Tortured and true, raw and complex, like so many heartstrings plucked by rough and cracked hands. It begins with a gut wrenching intro that throws you in to some demented abyss, echoing with throbbing melodies between voice, piano and guitar. The rest of the album perfectly snowballs down into music that is truly inspiring and alluring, yet it keeps a certain rooted edge like the harsh words spat out by an angered lover.

The lyrics swagger down the straights of love and hate, professed from Mark Steiner’s lips in a rather fragile yet powerful ardor. The wrestling of piano and violin on many of the songs is a thing of true beauty. “Broken Man” immediately strikes you with a feeling of grief, the violin’s harmony with Steiner’s voice is heart wrenching, the story of love gone in disarray and its repercussions, fragmented and torn apart. Then there is “Cain” a song of lament and loss.

The guitar on this track paces back and forth as the piano acts out in disobedience. Then there is probably my favorite song of the album, “Sea of Disappointment” which quietly creeps in to your thoughts as soon as it begins. The guitar and Steiner’s voice start off with apology followed by drums trailing in on his message of distress and struggle. His voice almost warns us, fueled by the words, “my sea of disappointment, which is where I choose to drown,” as the song comes to its untimely end and the conviction is set. This is an album definitely written for the troubled and heartbroken; those who oddly thrive on sordid emotion. It has become my late night savior as I rustle through thoughts in my time of loneliness and reflection, and that is worth more than words could ever express.

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