marigolden – an accurate moniker for Melbourne-based (Wurundjeri Country) artist Mel O’Neill – fills the room with a mixture of gentle folk and indie-rock. Described as the queen of contradiction, her songs are full of pondering and reflections. With passion and power, O’Neill’s latest single ‘Mars’ is out now.

Compared to previous releases ‘Taking It Back’and ‘Just Like Smoke’ that has a twist of neo-soul groove, ‘Mars’ has a life of its own. The progression of O’Neill’s art is evident in this new single.

A delicate track that plays like an internal monologue, ‘Mars’ encapsulates exhaustion and discontent. O’Neill’s lyricism and vocals drive the track. Tender lyrics open the single, accompanied by warm, grounding tones of the guitar. The track is instrumentally structured to follow the emotions conveyed as O’Neill states: “Have you ever felt a bit fed up with humanity? Like everything around you is a bit too hard and you wish you could just scrap it all and start from scratch? That’s sort of what ‘Mars’ is about. The ebb and flow of this feeling is mirrored in the song’s structure. Guitar drives the song from a soft, vulnerable start to a climactic full band ending that truly encapsulates the essence of feeling overwhelmed.”

Throughout ‘Mars’, the ebbs and flows of the track are directed by the intensity and power of O’Neill’s vocals. The pure emotion is met with full-band instrumentals that introduce the indie-rock influence into the track. Slow builds of rolling drums and a twang in the guitar push the single forward whilst harmonies float in between.