Mark Anthony Bartolo – “Up Brown”

Good Sunday Morning! Mark Anthony Bartolo has a new single out now called “Up Brown”, and I’ve been replaying it quite a bit since hearing it. The song runs about two and a half minutes, but there’s a lot happening emotionally in that brief runtime.

The lyrics are about betrayal and finally seeing someone for who they actually are. Bartolo describes a person who only calls when the sun goes down, who sends messages when he’s away, always hiding behind calculated smiles. The line “you’ve done your job up brown” repeats, and it’s essentially him saying “congratulations, you perfectly destroyed me.”

The guitar adds warmth without drowning anything out, and his voice sounds genuine. You can hear real emotion in how he sings each line. The production is stripped back enough that the story gets to be the main focus. This release is more vulnerable and introspective than his brighter songs like “Blinded By The Sun”. Bartolo looks directly at painful emotions and writes about them honestly.

If you like this single, check out his other releases. Follow Mark Anthony Bartolo on Instagram and Facebook for updates on new music.