Manchester singer-songwriter Alex Mara strips everything back on Alone With You, a five-track acoustic EP that feels more like sitting beside a fire while someone tells you the stories that shaped them. Written during Mara’s travels through Latin America and originally shared in hostels, rooftops and firesides, these songs carry the intimacy of music made for people rather than simply for recording.
The EP opens its emotional world through gentle acoustic textures, with Mara’s sincere voice doing much of the heavy lifting. On “Alone With You,” soft guitar strumming is joined by warm, tender strings as he sings gently to his lover, asking for nothing more complicated than staying together for the night and sharing each other’s intimate confidence. The arrangement remains deliberately uncluttered, allowing the vulnerability in his delivery to take centre stage.
“There I Was” digs deeper. Mara sings slowly and cautiously over piano, strings and guitar, letting each layer build gradually until the track develops a quiet emotional weight. He sings of avoidant tendencies by watching someone cry, seeing dreams slipping away and describing running from a feeling he cannot quite escape.
That restraint is central to Alone With You. After leaving a career in software development to travel through Latin America, Mara found himself repeatedly using music to create spontaneous connections with strangers. These acoustic recordings preserve that spirit. They sound lived-in, with space around the instruments and plenty of room for the voice to breathe.
Across its five songs, Alone With You captures the beauty of simplicity. Sometimes a guitar, a voice and a handful of honest memories are all you need to make a song feel close.
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Review by: Naomi Joan