Critic's evaluation
He comes from the remote Belle-Îlle, an island in the northwest of France. However, he decided to stay between his roots and the capital of São Paulo. It was in the meantime that Marc Verwaerde was able to take a big step in his career: releasing solo material. Entitled A Better Man, his debut EP was born, in his own words, with the ambition of matching the artists who made the British sound in the late 90s and early 2000s.
The listener is immediately introduced to the syncopated, swinging and contagious drumming of Clément Febvre. Through it, it is already possible to perceive a fluid and contagious rhythmic movement until the moment when its absolute protagonism is humbled by allowing the entry of two other instruments. Now at the forefront of the sound, Marc Verwaerde's guitar, with its sharp riff, parades delicacy and politeness, while Jérôme Gras' bass is heard with a purposefully serene rigidity, like a conscience calling the viewer back to their senses. After all, when these sonic paraphernalia come together, an adorably delicate, velvety, gentle and fresh melody forms, taking the viewer out of their physical notion and transporting them to a comforting extrasensory environment. Although there are lapses into melancholy and nostalgia, the title track acts as a consolation, a hug in the midst of suffering. Guided by Verwaerde's slightly nasal voice with a hint of bass, the song is filled with duets between the singer and Ian Fonseca's backing vocals, amplifying the reflective lyrical harmony. The title track, which also has a classical arrangement with the sound of violins instilling generous doses of softness, is a work that educates, with kindness and purity, to listen to the signs of life, not to stubbornly insist on something unproductive, and to follow destiny wisely. Persistence, determination and self-confidence are key qualities here so that you can ignore the negative and not let it consume your sentimental balance, giving way to feelings like fear and insecurity. The title track shows the presence of an omnipresent being who always shows people, with a great sense of humility and humanity, through actions of nature or social action, the way to become a better person.
It is delicately sweet in its subtlety. Almost like a lullaby that calms even the most conflicted heart, the melody comes in the form of a soft embrace that offers an ecstasy of well-being. With soft, gentle textures that give the tinkling sound of the tambourine a subtle prominence over the sharpness of the synthesizer and the bass in the melodic aisle, I Love You enchants with its structural minimalism and romantically floral folk. As it matures in melody, even if it doesn't reach a crescendo, the song works like an exchange of affectionate glances, full of reciprocity in its unverbalized emotion, but energetically felt and understood. Under an acidic, undulating bed thanks to the synthesizer's sonar, I Love You is more than a proof of love, it's an account of how a person acts and transforms another person's life, their opinions and the way they experience emotions. Between the lines, the track is a simple work of gratitude for life, even in its imperfections.
The new awakening presents an atmosphere that is still serene, but with slightly danceable principles through its esoteric high-pitched tinkling. Between embryonic mentions of disco music and Coldplay-style pop, as well as flirtations with U2-style alternative rock, with a special mention of the introductory energy of Beautiful Day, the band's single, If I Were You, the synthesizer plays a leading role in creating the melodic textures. With a lively and infectious chorus, the song sets out to show the listener that it is possible to start again, even when pain and suffering make you think otherwise. It's a work that leaves the soul lighter and free of any kind of rigidity so that it can allow itself to hope and see in tomorrow's sunrise the dawn of a second chance not just for itself, but for life.
Continuing with its delicate character, the song begins with a sense of surprising joy. Even though the melodic base maintains a certain tone of melancholy, the brass trio played by Sergio Coelho, Phelipe Sabo and Reynaldo Izeppi adds an embryonic touch of sunshine to the sound. This bright and smiling side definitely exists, but it also ends up sharing space with a certain impetus for torpor, a feeling that sometimes loses out to an obvious swing, but without sensuality when it comes to sex or desire itself. With each verse beginning with an aesthetic familiarity with the same structural outline of Don't Look Back In Anger, a single by Oasis, The Long Shot shows a character who, after losing himself in the midst of meaninglessness, experienced a moment that gave him a start, a sudden awareness that allowed him to find the motivation he needed to follow the right path in life from the voices of destiny.
The delicacy seems to reach its peak through the serene strumming of the guitar. Giving the atmosphere a comforting bucolic touch, the song begins with a minimalist aesthetic, based on the synchrony between voice and guitar. In the form of a folk song with a very rural essence, almost as if it had come from Louisiana, the song exudes sweetness, subtlety and beauty from the way the sound comes out of the instrument and the timbre resonates through Verwaerde's mouth. With this context, Words is, like I Love You, a love song. Unlike the former, however, this track is intended to encourage the listener to feel a sense of urgency and intensity. Curiously, however, the romance in Words is simply a way of showing the weight of the phrase 'I love you' and illustrating its intense meaning in the lives of both those who utter it and those who receive it. In short, Words is a love song that questions, above all, whether it is possible to survive in the world without experiencing this emotion.
Lovely, delicate and fresh, A Better Man is an EP that enchants with its aesthetic simplicity, its structural minimalism and its melodic subtlety. From a gentle, affectionate and compassionate sound, the material moves through different situations that can be crossed in anyone's life.
Between the five tracks, Marc Verwaerde invites the listener to move through themes such as love, gratitude, self-knowledge, motivation and overcoming. If you put it like that, it sounds cold and emotionless, or like simple self-help material. However, what Verwaerde has done is fuse his own experiences in such a way as to represent the experiences of the listener and those around the world.
There isn't a single person who hasn't searched for the true meaning of their life, or someone who simply hasn't experienced the need to be a better person. Therefore, each of the pieces on A Better Man is an outstretched hand for the listener to hold firmly and accompany them, like a true friend, to the true discoveries of the world of emotions.
In order for the EP to sound with such an ambience of stunning subtlety, Verwaerde teamed up with Fonseca to structure the mixing engineering. With him, A Better Man not only made sure to reach the listener politely and gently, but also gave the listener a taste of the different sonic nuances coming from all the instruments, both together and in their own individual ways. And so, the EP was configured as folk material of a high standard with touches of pop, disco music and alternative rock.
Closing the technical scope is the cover art. Signed by Céline Danloy, it features a photograph of the carcass of a building dominated by weeds and vines. In the center of the door, in the distance, you can see Verwaerde in a perfect metaphor for the path you have to take to become a better man. With its bucolic aroma, the environment also evokes the natural purity of the individual as opposed to his adaptation to the social environment, just as nature has accommodated itself to urbanism.
Released on 01/26/2024 in an independent way, A Better Man is an EP that surprises with its aesthetic delicacy, beautiful harmonies and touching melodies. A product that, despite being a monologue of one man's emotions, is a link to a whole society that has certainly felt or experienced the same situations. With A Better Man, Marc Verwaerde makes the sound the extension of his heartbeat and thus enchants the listener with his sincerity and friendliness.
