Published on Oct 8, 2004
There is so much interesting music in circulation these days
that indie acts tend to get one shot with me. I’ve rarely gone back
and reviewed an independent artist a second time, and even more
rarely done it within six months of
my first review of their work.
Mark McKay earned that distinction the old-fashioned way — he
writes terrific songs and sings them like he means it. The music is
deceptively simple — mostly guitar-bass-drums roots-rock — but
the songs are fiercely intelligent little gems, full of purpose,
longing and a certain ragged majesty.
An early highlight is “Sweet Temptation,” a mid-tempo rocker
burnished with Steve Earle guitars, Bruce Springsteen harmonica and
a laconic Neil Young vocal. “Someday is today / The day after
never,” sings McKay as he narrates the tale of a man in jail and
the woman who waits for him. It’s hard to know what’s right and
what’s wrong, he suggests in one typically acute observation, “In a
time when every hero / Just wants to get paid.”
McKay’s “Nashville,” previously heard in both acoustic and
electric live renditions on McKay’s
Live At The Memory Hotel disc, receives on its studio
recording the stately, iconic tempo that its mysteriously moving
lyric deserves. Companion piece “Stay Around” is a terrific rocker,
lit up by McKay’s distorted guitar leads.
“Full Moon Eyes” looms next with its great intro — “With a head
full of teenage oxygen / And a pocket full of cash / You ain’t the
first one to fall into his eyes / Baby you just might be the last”
— leading into a urban showdown that’s one part “Jungleland” and
two parts Crazy Horse. “Ready For The Show” is a similarly
memorable number, featuring breathy Wilco country-rock vocals over
a loping beat decorated with quirky, discordant guitar solos. “You
know the danger in a simple kiss,” notes McKay before the song
shambles across the finish line.
On the rock side of things, “Mercedes” is a slide-guitar stomper
of a tune, deconstructing suburban spiritual decay to the beat of a
throbbing shotgun riff. “U-Eye” takes longer to ignite, but builds
to a big payoff as McKay and guitarist/producer Eric “Roscoe” Ambel
(Steve Earle) power through the closing solos. Earle, along with
Springsteen, Cash and Young, are McKay’s most obvious inspirations
— oh, and Lucinda Williams, whose “Side Of The Road” is covered
here. The end product, though, is all McKay.
“You say I’m your overpass / Traffic gliding through the night /
The cars are gone and you hear the rain / Drizzlin’ down on your
heart of glass” goes the gorgeous mid-song breakdown of
Shimmer‘s brilliant opener “Rain (Like A Hallelujah).” Here,
as they do throughout this terrific album, McKay’s words and music
work like fine brushes on the canvas of your mind. As image and
emotion melt into one, you know you’re in the hands of a true
artist. McKay’s earlier work suggested greatness;
Shimmer seals the deal.
[Editor’s note: Shimmer
can be purchased through
www.markmckay.com.]