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Kurt Hernon's
Review: May, 2001
Mark Mulcahy
SmileSunset
"I’d have to maybe say Brian Wilson" Mulcahy says when asked
if any one artist influenced his new record SmileSunset.
And title aside, Mulcahy’s "maybe" is the key to his admission.
SmileSunset doesn’t sound like Brian Wilson at all.
SmileSunset feels like a vibe Brian Wilson shook out
of his salt-water soaked hair back around ’68 or ’69 that
just floated around in the atmosphere until Mark Mulcahy caught
it in a jar. It’s an enormous achievement of fragile melancholy
that embarrasses a boatload of other thoughtfully aimed songwriters.
Angels hum from on high as Mulcahy introduces the star of
his show in "Micon the Icon". It’s the drifting sort of metaphor
that leads you straight into this resourceful and contemplative
record that keeps the "vocals turned up, and the drums turned
down" as Mulcahy puts it. A wholly appropriate production
decision considering Mulcahy’s voice is the real star here.
Vocals and what that voice is saying of course. Put together
on SmileSunset they mark the assured maturity of a
post punk life that never gave in.
But Mulcahy is far from conventional. Whispering an opening
to "The Quiet One" Mulcahy sets the stage for a sweetly rollicking
"what kind of drugs have you done tonight? / because you’ve
got a face like a lava light". Painting pictures on the softest
canvass you’ll ever find. Straightforwardness on "The Way
that She Really Is" leads to a gypsy’s lament on "Until I
Say So". And the confessional "Alamo in Alabama" stirs from
a brooding blues into an ethereal refrain that swells like
a gentle ocean wave, never having to crest to display it’s
control and power. It is quite simply a beautiful moment on
a record that is filled with and endless array of them. It’s
also a commanding display of Mulcahy’s ability to remain utterly
creative with his version of pop music. On SmileSunset
he sounds unrivaled.
I find myself listening to this more and more these days.
Listening and wondering, why can’t it all be so intriguing?
On SmileSunset Mulcahy tosses a few gemstones into
the fantastic void of absorbing and fulfilling music that
is ever-expanding these days.
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