Sometimes the best music takes a long time to mature. Such is the case with Mark Mulcahy, as demonstrated on SmileSunset. Mulcahy began recording with the Miracle Legion in 1984. While ML were dismissed by many as mere R.E... more ».M. imitators, confirmation of Mulcahy's singular talent came when he broke away to release his 1998 debut solo, Fathering. Radiohead's Tom Yorke hailed Mulcahy's delirious, dreamy vocals and critics invoked Jeff and Tim Buckley comparisons. SmileSunset demonstrates that Mulcahy's talent for creating a sense of rapturous intimacy is undimmed. His peerless vocals swoop and dive on "Alamo in Alabama" and unwrap the fragile regret of "I Shot Myself in the Foot." Lyrically, "The Come On," the carnival-like "Until I Say So," and "Quiet One" detail a world of bohemian intrigue and sexual adventure. Mulcahy's own multi-instrumental skills add ornate musical splashes and contribute to SmileSunset's delicate, provocative, and warm and wonderful aura. --Gavin Martin« less
Sometimes the best music takes a long time to mature. Such is the case with Mark Mulcahy, as demonstrated on SmileSunset. Mulcahy began recording with the Miracle Legion in 1984. While ML were dismissed by many as mere R.E.M. imitators, confirmation of Mulcahy's singular talent came when he broke away to release his 1998 debut solo, Fathering. Radiohead's Tom Yorke hailed Mulcahy's delirious, dreamy vocals and critics invoked Jeff and Tim Buckley comparisons. SmileSunset demonstrates that Mulcahy's talent for creating a sense of rapturous intimacy is undimmed. His peerless vocals swoop and dive on "Alamo in Alabama" and unwrap the fragile regret of "I Shot Myself in the Foot." Lyrically, "The Come On," the carnival-like "Until I Say So," and "Quiet One" detail a world of bohemian intrigue and sexual adventure. Mulcahy's own multi-instrumental skills add ornate musical splashes and contribute to SmileSunset's delicate, provocative, and warm and wonderful aura. --Gavin Martin
CD Reviews
An adventurous, out-there listening experience
Paul Rhodes | York, UK | 06/07/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"When we last heard from Mark Mulcahy, on Fathering, he was lying naked on the floor of a Manhattan hotel following some erotic adventure. After that stripped down, alternatively bawdy and sorrowful solo album, all angular and perverse, SmileSunset sounds like a tentative stab at a larger audience. Once again, Mulcahy plays most of the parts himself, but this time pretty arrangements and guest musicians create an attractive sheen. There is no getting away from Mulcahy's idiosyncratic approach to rhythm and song structure, which makes SmileSunset an adventurous listen. He slips often and headlong into self-indulgence (to wit: the dire Until I Say So), but on the whole he manages to carry it off, perhaps on account of his candour, or the David Gray like timbre in his voice. The album's highlights are the exuberant, cartwheeling The Quiet One and the urban gothic Alamo in Alabama, yet the tone overall is muted, hinting at sadness to come after nightfall. In support of SmileSunset, Mulcahy played an impromptu solo show at a small café bar in York, UK, in June 2001. He alternatively soothed and stung the small boho audience, raising as many quizzical eyebrows as cheers with his tales of losers and fleeting conquests. Like Jeff Buckley, Mulcahy can sing his heart out, disregard conventional song structure and fearlessly expose his emotions. Mulcahy is not a showy chanteuse though, his voice has more Massachusetts grit, with the choirboy determinedly kept under a grimy city cloak. In concert, the louder material, such as his live centrepiece Bill Jocko, received only polite applause, whereas the quieter, more confessional songs like Wake Up Whispering or Hey Self Defeater had the audience listening with rapt attention. He also delved into his back catalogue for songs from his former band The Miracle Legion and two songs from a US-only cartoon show, The Adventures of Pete and Pete."
Just wonderful.
k_from_pdx | Portland, OR United States | 04/22/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"A longtime fan of Miracle Legion and Mark Mulcahy, this cd fulfills all my expectations and is simply wonderful. Mulcahy's amazing honeyed but weathered voice, melodic but not pop by the numbers, all the great elements are in place."
Something to Smile About
77todd77 | Seattle, WA | 05/28/2001
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The debut solo album by Mark Mulcahy, 'Fathering', was a good album. 'Smilesunset', is a great one. It begins with the whimsical, almost silly 'Micon the Icon', and continues through styles as diverse as baroque cabaret, slight jazz stylings and quiet ruminations on love, lost and current. The only thing more beautiful than his gorgeous guitar playing, is his always distinctive voice. 'The Way She Really Is', and 'Resolution #1' are stunning highlights. 'Alamo in Alabama' meanders along and peaks with one of the most melodic choruses that he's written thus far. No one sounds like Mark Mulcahy...and that's a good thing."
Just clearing up a fact or two
Grubby | 01/11/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The reviewer Paul Rhodes stated that Pete & Pete was a US-only cartoon show, when in fact it wasn't a cartoon at all, but an a-typical live action chirldren's program (for everyone) for which Miracle Legion, under the name of Polaris, produced an entire album's worth of material which can be purchased through this site. Both the Polaris album and the show for which is was produced come highly recommended.
In regards to this album - it is a beautiful piece of work that drifts like a daydream from folky rock to lilting lullabyes. Buy it."
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1