Mark Eitzel released his tenth solo album Hey Mr Ferryman on the 27th of January and I’m really loving it. I can’t say that I’ve been the most dedicated follower during the past 10-15 years. Criminally bad to be honest. I have the American Music Club stuff sure, but I only have three of those earlier solo albums and the last one is Caught in a Trap and I Can’t Back Out ‘Cause I Love You Too Much, Baby all the way from 1998. I can’t exactly say why I lost track, because there sure was time in my life when I listened to a whole lot of American Music Club and Mark Eitzel. I have some work to do to catch up, because I’m sure this one was on me and the quality of Mark’s songwriting has remained strong through all these years. However, last night I listened to his new song An Answer and I felt like my heart and his music had never been apart.
Hey Mr Ferryman is now out and available on Merge Records / Decor Records. It’s early days and I’ve been listening to it less than 24 hours, but I’m already loving this album. Mark Eitzel is a great songwriter and Hey Mr Ferryman is filled with meaningful and powerful songs. Bernard Butler produced the album and together with Mark Eitzel he kept the quiet beauty and dramatic moments in good balance. The songs that I loved the most on first listening were Just Because and this one below called An Answer. It’s all great though. I would like to call it a masterpiece, but maybe that’s a bit too hasty after just a few spins.