For those unaware, Chris Mardini belongs to the rare breed of artists born to give voice to our most complex emotions.

At just 19-years-old, the NYC-raised singer/songwriter has mastered the art of merging intense self-reflection with poetic social commentary — a dynamic made all the more potent by his innate talent for crafting spellbinding melodies.

A near-lifelong musician who took up guitar at age 10 and got his start playing Beatles covers at iconic venues like The Bitter End, Mardini sets his soul-baring songwriting to a singular collision of elements: the brooding urgency of classic alt-rock, kinetic rhythms of underground hip-hop, and hypnotic vocal work of timeless singer/songwriters like Jeff Buckley.

Now, the young artist is set to release his self-titled debut album Chris Mardini, out October 15th, 2021 via Polar Bear Recordings.

1. I’ll Try
2. Skin Tight
3. Nobody Knows
4. Sleepless (Remix)
5. Herd
6. Shadows
7. Grin
8. Lost

Opening on the first single, the glorious, unabashedly heartfelt, introspectively crafted I’ll Try and then the synth-harmonized melodies of Skin Tight, we are next given one of the stand outs here, in my humble opinion, the cultured beats and harmonies of Nobody Knows which is backed by the effervescently-sculptured Sleepless (Remix).

Up next we get the deliberately expansive, genre-bending experimentations found within the pulsatingly addictive second single from this debut album, Herd and that is itself followed by the grounded reminiscing within Shadows, with the album rounding out on the transportive alt-rock of Grin, closing all-too-soon on the atmospherically-charged Lost.

Viscerally charged but intricately detailed, Mardini’s galvanizing brand of alt-rock fuses perfectly with his exploration of alienation and insecurity, self-sabotage and social pressure. “I feel like I owe it to myself and to the people listening to be as genuine as possible in my music,” he says.

In the making of the album, Mardini joined forces with Grammy Award-winning producer Marc Swersky and recorded at New Jersey’s Sound on Sound Studios with a lineup of veteran musicians, infusing each track with the same volatile energy of his mosh-heavy live set.

In the writing and recording of his debut album, Mardini deliberately expanded on the genre-bending experimentation of his earliest output. In shedding light on the darkest corners of his psyche, Mardini ultimately found his way to a sublime catharsis that’s palpable in every track.

And while much of his debut speaks to the pain of isolation, he hopes that his songs might leave others with an undeniable sense of understanding and connection. “I want everyone to know that it’s okay to change and evolve or even feel like you have different personalities sometimes, as long as you stay true to yourself,” he says.

“Hopefully people will get some kind of comfort out of these songs, and know that they’re not alone in dealing with all the problems that life throws at us.”

Chris Mardini - I’ll Try [Official Video]

Chris Mardini - Herd [Official Video]

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