Songs From My Room - Olivia Vargas (Album Review)

Olivia Vargas has worked hard over the past few years to make a name for herself in the Michigan music scene. As a songwriter and singer, she regularly delights audiences on stage and online with her various collaborative vocal projects and with her band August. As an educator, she works with private students and church ensembles alike, passing on the knowledge gleaned from her performing and academic experiences. She crafts soulful moments that merge skilled artistry with a desire to connect with listeners on vulnerable subjects. For 2021, Olivia has released Songs from My Room, inviting guests into a space that has been her creative muse for the past year in quarantine.

The album starts with “Midnight in June,” a previously released single that I wrote about in another blog entry that you can check out here. To summarize, the tune started out as a college composition project reflecting on a trip she took to Scotland, with the song later enhanced and finalized with the additional vocals of frequent collaborators Theresa Redmond and Marissa Peak. It’s a wonderful intersection of artistry and storytelling that sets the tone for the rest of the EP. “Limited View” focuses on the tunnel vision that comes from dealing with anxiety, the problems overwhelming the passions and the world shrinking to few spaces of comfort. Olivia mentions that she “wrote this song in January of last year when I was at my lowest point. It felt as if anxiety had completely consumed me and was controlling my life. It was all I could think about and I was struggling so much with how to get myself out of the spiral I was falling into.” This somber tune offers a glimmer of hope: there must be more to “this limited view.” Each repetition of the phrase emphasizes her efforts to actively combat these incessant worries.

With a lilting, sparse piano accompaniment and soft vocal harmonies, “The Letter” tells the story of discovering a letter during a move from a love interest long in the past. When she began to craft the song, she “knew the piano that was going to accompany it had to be simple and sit on the edge of happy and sad, some sort of melancholy. I wrote the harmonies quickly as well and modeled them after what I imagined a string section would sound like. There is nothing fancy about this song, but it lets the storyline speak for itself and that’s why I love it so much.” The emotions are palpable in this story, reminding of good times detailed in writing and the pain of love lost so unexpectedly. In a modern day landscape of social media praise and rampant social anxiety at presenting one’s self to the world, “What Would It Feel Like” articulates feelings of insecurity while searching outward for approval. “Some days I wake up and try to channel the version of Olivia that practices self love completely. It doesn’t always last long, but I’m getting better and better at finding her.” This minor waltz gives the tune almost a cinematic presentation, accented with vocal harmonies and building up to the final statement of “so give it up and let it go for today.” To close the album, “In Matters of Morals and Heart” emphasizes love and community over the many organized efforts to deny others the right to a happy life. After finding out about Terry Gounda’s story in the Catholic Church last year, Olivia wrote about how she “was losing hope in humanity and I was tired of the hypocrisy and political statements from every side of the argument.” It is a song that seeks to motivate positive change and recognize those in your sphere of influence that you can protect and support.

This EP really delivers on a blend of intimate storytelling and distinct compositional expression. Each tune has its own character, it’s own time frame, and its own moment of cathartic expression from Olivia. She has treated so many listeners to experiences with other groups, but to invite listeners into her most private space to hear some of her most vulnerable thoughts is a huge undertaking for an artist, in spite of how easy it might appear on the EP from Olivia’s piano playing and effortless vocal delivery. There isn’t a moment of wasted space with so many subjects to cover and feelings to parse, and it makes for a strong listening experience. No doubt with how things are trending in Michigan for the music scene, audiences will be invited into Olivia’s room for many opportunities going forward!

Support Olivia Vargas!
Bandcamp: https://oliviavargas.bandcamp.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oliviavargasmusic/
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/50eCjvz8969pR8OSCDyehf?si=Ps0CU8ANQpK7_EZ0cmWNlQ
August: https://www.augustthebandmusic.com/

Album Credits:
Vocals, Piano, Songwriting: Olivia Vargas
Vocal Harmonies: Theresa Redmond & Marissa Peak
Production/Engineering: Bailey Budnik