The New Mendicants members are Joe Pernice, Norman Blake, Mike Belitsky. I’m not sure do I need to write more. Those names already tell you that this is wonderful music. Of course there is that one problem. Norman Blake doesn’t sing much lead vocals. Not that there’s anything wrong with the other option. I’m a huge Joe Pernice fan and almost everything he has done with the Pernice Brothers and Scud Mountain Boys means the world to me. However, Norman Blake means the world plus all other alternative universes that neither scientists or scifi nerds haven’t even found or imagined yet.
Into The Lime isn’t the new Grand Prix, The World Won’t End or Massachusetts, but it doesn’t need to be. Sure they both have written some greater songs in the past, but telling these guys that they could have worked on the songs a while longer to make them even greater, would be like telling Elvis in the 50s that maybe you should work on that hip thing you do on stage, it just isn’t working. That was then. This is now. And they still sound amazing. Into the Lime is a beautiful pop record. Especially from the sixth song If You Only Knew Her to 9th song Out Of The Lime it’s just heavenly and I’m crying like a baby. When Norman starts singing By The Time It Gets Dark, a tissue isn’t enough, I need a damn bucket or my tears will cause water damage to the apartment. I’m loving this if we agree that there’s only 9 songs on the album. That last song is just awful or maybe I’m a narrow-minded fool. Could go either way. I would personally bet on me being a fool.