Malinda - "It's All True"

A solid Indie Folk-Pop debut album from TikTokker Malinda

Malinda Kathleen Reese (who produces mononymously under her first name, Malinda) is an artist who has gained a significant following on TikTok (2.7M) over the last several years. Much of this has been through participating in the sea shanty and folk song spaces, including collaborating with other small, independent artists, such as The Wellermen, a bass-heavy folk vocal quartet.

Malinda’s style on this album is heavily reflective of this folky path to success. At its core, it’s still founded on modern pop sensibilities, but every singular building block and element which fleshes out the album and its individual tracks is comprised of anything but modern pop. The result is this wildly interesting mesh of styles and sounds which is simultaneously archaic and refreshing. And, given the specific point of the intro and title track, “It’s All True”, the album is stylistically on-theme.

Because “It’s All True” focuses in on the inherent dualities in people, individually, and society, at-large:

You are worried and you are free
You are dangerous indeed
You're shattered and you are whole
You are lost and you're in control

And hey, there's nothing to say that won't find its way to a perfect rhyme
It's all true at the same time

I'm so in love with it all, every moment
You say you're too much for me, you're just enough
I won't regret it at all
Life is golden and it's broken and it's fine
It's all true at the same time

Life is complicated, and that complication is ultimately a source of beauty. Art is meant to be a reflection of reality, so building that complexity into your musical style is really just basic brilliance.

There is a strong Irish/Gaelic Folk presence in Malinda’s vocal style, so that element sits at the fore of most tracks. The biggest exception to this is “Good Intentions”, which is styled more as a Latin Ballad. All ten tracks on the album, though, are very much acoustic-focused, with instrumentation provided by guitar, piano, woodwind, and violin, among others. A couple of tracks, such as “I Miss Her and I Blame You”, a bouncy exploration of newfound self-awareness on the other side of trauma, utilize some electronic elements.

The draw, throughout, is the vocal line. Malinda is smooth and empassioned, with an elegant vibrato that just keeps coming back for more. The vocal melodies are rich and entrancing, and there are sections where she fades so effortlessly into the backing instrumentation that the song transcends into atmospheric bliss.

It’s All True is an incredible debut effort for the young songstress. I recommend this album for any fans of Folk-Pop or anybody looking for an up-and-comer to follow.

Rating: Blue