[“Pretty Idea” by Amber Mark, small expert ]
Amber Mark released a new album on October 10th called “Pretty Idea,” and it’s all about love and heartbreak.
AMBER MARK: And it really, I think, the overarching, I guess, subject is probably this relationship that I was in for the past four years and how I had, you know, really, I guess, imagined the rest of my life with this person.”
Mark is known for uptempo soul funk music. But for this album, she was inspired by the genre, Yacht Rock. When listening to “Pretty Idea,” you feel like you’re boating on the West Coast through the smooth jazz and R&B sound.
MARK: When I went in and started writing this record, I actually went in like. with the intention of like, i was really into yacht rock at the time it’s really random um but I think that was like the original intention I like had when making the record but then I think, you know, my heart always lies in like this kind of like house of tempo world so I kind of melded the two in some ways.
She played “By The End of the Night” during a press conference as an example of that Yacht Rock feel.
[“By The End of the Night” by Amber Mark, small expert]
She says Michael McDonald’s vocal harmonies, Stevie Wonder, Sade and Labi Siffre inspired the album sonically. But each song has its own style, with “Sweet Serotonin” drawing inspiration from Amy Winehouse.
MARK: I mean, that song in particular has a very like Amy feel to it. So I would say that she was a huge, huge influence on that song.
But Mark’s childhood in Goa, India, also naturally influences her sound.
MARK: Oh my God, through everything, everything I write about, I think my childhood, even on a subconscious level, I think is expressed through the music, through the sound.
Mark has only performed two of the 12 new songs so far, but now and through November, she’s sharing more of “Pretty Idea” on the Short & Sweet tour with Olivia Dean, Ravyn Lenae and headliner and friend Sabrina Carpenter.
MARK: And I think on tour specifically, I think I’m just excited for all the laughter and giggles that I feel like are a constant anytime we’re hanging out.
Sabrina Carpenter and Amber Mark relate on romance and “situationships,” which influence their music in a similar way.
MARK: I spoke to her throughout a lot of these little, you know, situationships that I was experiencing, and all that stuff. It’s nice for it to come out and to be able to share a stage with her and sing about these things that, you know, that she was so much a part of.
Just days after the album release, Mark announced dates for her 2026 “Pretty Idea” solo tour, and tickets are live.
I’m Moriah Pettway and I’m Maya Hawk, WNUR News
