BMA single review by Vince Leigh
Queensland-based music artist, Mario Vayne, spent years playing clubs and pubs as a vocalist for various bands in both Australia and the UK.
He was renowned for his extended vocal range but was caught, as one imagines many were, by the transition into the mid ‘90s grunge era.
So Mario decided to take a break from music.
In Autumn 2018, he was inspired to start writing and recording again, unashamedly going back to what he knew best. His particular writing style homages his formative influences, those being the heavyweights of the genre. To wit, Cheap Trick, Kiss, The Sweet, The Little River Band, The Babys, and Foreigner all echo here.
It can be argued that aforementioned outfits vary greatly in genre. Yet after listening to Baby, slivers of these inspirations can be heard. The big chorus, the harmonies, the vocal style, the arrangement, the instrumentation; they’re all here on what is ostensibly a flag-waving track for a resurrected career.
In this age of straight-to-market tunes, it makes sense for Mario to have rediscovered his abilities, skill, and desire to express himself via the classic rock mode.
And Baby is just that.
Kicking off with the hook, the track veers from a stadium stomper to the more reflective mood of the verses, and back again. It soon segues into a clean guitar interlude and another low-key verse and chorus. We oscillate to the chorus’ main focus, until we reach the resolve.
Indeed, many of the attributes of those rock luminaries are present. But there is also something bright and hopeful about the track. It is not merely a sonic update, but instead a weaving of beloved influences into the performance.
The nuances reveal an authentic allegiance to a specific pop-rock power that’s as playful as it is unpretentiously rousing.
You can hear this track on Spotify or Apple Music
