Get Lyrical: Kristen Marlo's "Is It Real"
posted in: Features • Pop
Kristen Marlo defines her sound as folk, acoustic or indie pop, which is fitting given the prevalence of plucky guitars and lo-fi ukulele that most often fill her songs. That is, until you get to Is It Real, a driving electropop gem that’s been burning up the Electronica charts on OurStage. But why would a singer-songwriter delve into the electronic realm? There’s no real lyricism there, right? Wrong! In the hands of this capable, Maine-based singer songwriter and collaborator DJ MaRLo, the bloops, blips and simple lyrics of Is It Real take on an ethereal, otherworldly life.
“Is It Real” started life as an acoustic ditty”not unlike most of Marlo’s material. That is, until Australia’s DJ MaRLo came across the track while searching for artists that shared his name and decided to give it his own spin. Plenty of the repetition that makes electronica so enjoyable is here, but Marlo’s song is much more than one chorus repeated over a synthy backdrop. She opens the song by singing, My lungs collapse/I cannot breathe anymore/I cannot breathe. And that’s not the only physical ailment our singer-songwriter is experiencing on her electropop tune, as she also sings, My vision is blurred/I cannot see anymore/I cannot see. Eventually, we learn that Marlo cannot speak anymore, nor can she sleep. Sounds like this girl has quite a few problems.
“When I wrote this song, I was basing my feelings and emotions about being separated from someone you love,” Marlo says. “The very first title for this track was ‘An Exaggerated Love Song’ but I changed it to ‘Separation Anxiety’ after I started playing it out at shows.” You can see why “Separation Anxiety” made a fitting title for the song’s acoustic counterpart, because by the time Marlo gets to the track’s echoing chorus”Is it real (is it real)/What I’m feeling (what I’m feeling)”the song’s infectious beat has already gotten under your skin and you can hear the wavering uncertainty in her voice. Her loneliness echoes throughout the track, causing the song to resonate through your ears long after she repeats the chorus one more time and its last notes fade away. And it’s no surprise that this duo reworked the song so masterfully, given that the themes of “Is It Real” are ones that Marlo frequently works with. “My favorite thing to write about is love. The good, the bad, and the ugly.”
Give “Is It Real” a listen below to hear how the right words can elevate an electronica song from fun and dance to interesting and haunting.
Have an interesting story behind your lyrics? Let us know at pr@ourstage.com!