In his latest song โYou No Meโ from the emotionally wrought album Itโs You, Only You and No Me, Berlin-based artist Marcus Cetera invites listeners into the darkest corners of an abusive relationship with a staggering intensity. From the very first notes, a slow, heavy strum of guitar sets the mood, and Ceteraโs low, thick, almost murmured voice slips in, as if afraid of waking something dangerous in the next room. And just like that, youโre trapped with him behind the bathroom door.
What follows is a lived moment stretched out into sound. Gnarly electric guitars groan like distant thunder, then disappear, then come back again, echoing the abuserโs unpredictable return. The production has each instrument holding its breath. And Ceteraโs voice, always teetering on eggshells, mirrors the state of the narratorโs mind slowly shifting towards a resolution. The final repetition of โItโs me, itโs me, I have to changeโฆโ spirals like a prayer, or a desperate desire to break free and overcome.
The lyrics are as brutal as they are heartbreaking. He sings, โYou scream that Iโm nothing / Iโm worthless / I heard it all beforeโฆโ before eventually leading to, โI guess I will forgive you / Thatโs what I always do.โ I havenโt come across such nuanced storytelling and lyricism in a long time. Whatโs so scary about this magnificent thing is that it feels pulled from the gut. Cetera, whose work is often inspired by anonymized stories from psychotherapy sessions shared by his therapist wife, manages to turn private trauma into public catharsis without ever sounding exploitative.
Listen to the trembling, defiant, and devastatingly real โYou No Meโ on Spotify.
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Review by: Naomi Joan