It’s not the rise
That gives you wings
It’s the falling
There are certain albums each year that feel like an event, one that every music lover should be planning to hear and buy. After the runaway success of Marjana Semkina’s Kickstarter and the impressive lineup the album boasts, I can’t help but feel like Sirin is one of those event records. It releases on May 31st, and it is the best music of Marjana’s career.
Marjana has come a long way. She is one part of the Russian duo iamthemorning, she herself having immigrated to the UK in the last couple years. I remember the first time I heard her music; I was still frequenting progarchives.com, and she was there fighting fiercely to be heard, to be taken seriously. Once I heard the iamthemorning debut album ~, I was convinced, and subsequent albums were even better, including her first solo album in 2020 called Sleepwalking.
Here she is, though, fighting with that same poetic passion that I saw in her words from the beginning, but this time for music under her own name. Sirin is absolutely loaded with highlights, and the lineup is one of them. It includes Marjana herself on vocals and acoustic guitar; Jim Grey of Caligula’s Horse and Mick Moss of Antimatter on guest vocals; Grigoriy Losenkov on piano, bass, synth, and programming; Vlad Avy on electric guitar, synth, and programming; Keli Guðjónsson of Agent Fresco on drums; Charlie Cawood of Knifeworld on a variety of guitars, bouzouki, glockenspiel, hammered dulcimer, sither, liuqin, guzheng, and shaker; Liam McLaughlin (plays with Sithu Aye and iamthemorning) on electric guitar; a stringed quartet, and Grigoriy Losenkov on stringed arrangements.
As you can tell, this is an album of many sounds, layers, and tones. Marjana is describing herself as a progressive dark folk artist nowadays, and I think that’s appropriate. The music here is lush and full of novel instruments and gorgeous strings, and you’ll hear plenty of sparkling piano, acoustic guitar grace, and even some driving guitars and solos. Honestly, it still feels strange to hear Marjana’s unmistakable voice without a background of neoclassical piano arrangements, but I like this newer style and I think it enhances both her vocals and her potent lyrics.
And this is a potent album lyrically. The sirin is a mythical creature with the head of a woman and the body of a bird, thus the cover art (which is stunning). What I find interesting about this creature is that it was thought to be a bad luck, like a harbinger of death and tragedy, yet it also mourns and weeps for humanity and the terrible things that befall them. That describes this album very well. Marjana, through beautiful songs and passionate poetry, mourns over the violence and hate and death she sees in the world today, especially the Russian invasion of Ukraine, of which she has been an extremely vocal opponent. And like the detailed cover art with its golden flourishes, this album is full of melancholy darkness, but brushstrokes of light and golden melody bring it to life in astounding ways.
Sirin features ten songs, and all of them are fantastic. I’m not even sure which half is my favorite, honestly, because the whole album is strong. You will have heard the singles, both of which are amazing. “We Are the Ocean” opens the record with a rare sense of hope in her music, like there is something we can do together against the powers that be; I love the excellent guitar solo and the memorable chorus. “Pygmalion” is a fascinating track for me, as it slowly builds into a heavier rock climax that I’ve never heard with Marjana’s voice before, but it sounds so damn good and I almost wish it would go on for another minute or two.
The first half has some amazing highlights aside from the singles. “Lost But at Peace” is one of my favorites; I love the way Marjana sings the fleeting chorus, and the percussion and piano sound so perfect. “Anything But Sleep” is another favorite with Jim Grey on guest vocals; I get goosebumps every time I hear the spacey, atmospheric vocals on this song. I like how she starts it off, and Jim’s voice fades in dramatically. It is a song worth all the hype, and they sound terrific together. “Angel Street” ends the first half with acoustic flow, almost like a singer-songwriter piece, and it is melodic and wonderful.
The second half has some favorites, as well. “Gone” opens it with one of the most memorable choruses on the record; I love the hovering violin and the downtempo style of chorus. This song grabbed me on my first listen. “Death and the Maiden” with Mick Moss on guest vocals is another song worth the hype; this piece is about six minutes long, and is tinged with haunting strings and a great rhythm section which really sell the duet. I love the lyrics on this one, too, and the exquisite instrumental in the second half. What a song that one is!
Ironically, “The Storm” is the happiest-sounding track on the album. Its piano truly glitters and Marjana’s vocals are almost bouncy; and, you know, I just love how it sounds. “Swan Song” is an interesting track, I’ll say, one that fades in and fades out dramatically, but the dead center is lively and driving, yet also somehow mournful. It didn’t hit me at first, but it is now becoming a favorite. The closing piece is “This Silence is Dreaming”, and I have to say that it is one of my favorite ballads Marjana has ever written. I adore the flow of the melody, how it feels ominous and confessional and perhaps even accepting. The song is reserved and slow, and Marjana really leans into the emotion of it, and the ponderous piano that accompanies her develops the song even further. I absolutely love this song.
Marjana has been working hard, and the results speak for themselves. Sirin is a magnificent achievement, full of hardship and tragedy and sadness, but also imbued with light and wonder and beauty. The album only gets better with each listen, and I find myself hooked at the moment. Fans of iamthemorning should buy this—it’s a no brainer; but music lovers in general should also find something to love here, too.
We are water
And we are sand
We are the ocean
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Find Marjana Semkina online:
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The PROG Mind 