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Recent reviews for Nick Mancusi

By opening the deepest confines of his emotional center and filtering it through his innate musical talent, Nick Mancusi has created songs that speak directly to the soft spot that resides in all of us. In fact, he makes us embrace its power rather than fear its vulnerability. What’s more, the emotional spectrum his songwriting spans needs none of the smarm of trying-too-hard sugarpop that makes the radio all too saccharine at times. Mancusi’s songs resound with honest and sincerity. Integrity lies at the heart of his music – and it’s a big heart.
Mancusi has got heart, lots of it. Be it a guitar in his hands or piano keys beneath his fingers, Mancusi’s sincerity and passion pulse through every beat, every rhythm. He connects with his hearers by showing them that he is moved as they are moved.
He knows the secret of musical communication, how to make the listener feel what the artist feels, how to allow emotion to flow honestly and freely through music. Real emotion for real communication.
He speaks – sings – things that are true. But instead of offering ham-fisted abstract truisms (clichés), he sings about the truths of his own heart. From the emotive quiver of a piano key to the pluck of a guitar string, from a lyric that resonates with emotional integrity to the voice that sings only what the heart dictates – Mancusi reveals his inner light through the outer song.
“My music makes me laugh, makes me cry, gives me hope and satisfaction,” says Mancusi. And thus the channels of communication open wide like a floodgate. Because he sings what is true. Many reach for that. Few attain it. “Music for me is a way to connect with society on a deeper level,” says Mancusi.
Fine, so he’s unafraid to be tender and vulnerable – but what does his music sound like? So he’s sincere, but what is he saying? You can toss words like “adult contemporary” and “acoustic pop” into the air, but what do they mean in the case of Mancusi?
Melodies saturate the listener’s presence. From the instruments and from his voice, beauty and power (i.e. muscle) exude from the whole emotive beast that is Nick Mancusi’s songwriting. Melodies are expressed through the unimpeded, river-pebble smooth flow of piano lines and guitar rhythms that bespeak both natural songwriting abilities and the instrumental talent to carry it out to completion.
And what of Mancusi’s rich, unwavering voice? His vocal presence points to an artist who knows his voice as an organic instrument that requires the same balance of precision and passion as an instrument touched by hands.
And then there are the lyrics delivered by that voice – words that speak of love and loss, joy and sadness. “My influences are the experiences of life. I look at the world around me and write about it.”
Which brings us back to the heart of truth that informs each Nick Mancusi composition, that drives the performance of those songs. “Writing … well, it is the most personal thing I do in life.”
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Mancusi, a New Hampshire native, is based out of Scottsdale, Arizona. He is currently working with A&R Select, the premier A&R firm based out of Los Angeles, Ca. More information is available by visiting www.nickmancusimusic.com, www.myspace.com/nickmancusimusic and www.arselect.com.

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