Having hovered around the fringes since his 2004 debut “Distraction” earned him numerous critical brownie points, singer/ songwriter STEVEN MARK has returned with an accomplished sophomore effort in the syntax-twisting “Aloneaphobe.”
And this time it’s personal, because - while relationships still form the bedrock in terms of subject matter for most singer/ songwriters - Steven Mark’s spectacularly turbulent and dysfunctional dalliance with his ex-girlfriend has provided a rich seam of material for him to mine in creating these fourteen soul-bearing songs.
The quality of the song-crafting is never in doubt. Although little of “Aloneaphobe” rocks as such, tracks like the tough, crystalline opener “Window In The Dark” and the jangly, but cautious “But If You Look To The Right” (“somebody’s got to get burned/ into another you will turn”) make like fine, accessible power pop with tinges of everyone from The Byrds and Beau Brummels through to closer contemporaries such as Neil Finn and Matthew Sweet. “Homespun Vanilla Pie”, meanwhile, finds Mark coming out fighting in a big way. “You deserve a song for all the crap you gave me”, he spits as an entrée before the song locks into a crunchy groove which suits the seething tone to perfection.
Mostly, though, Mark is either critical of his own failings or sanguine that his love affair has run its’ course. Songs like “Yesterday’s Smile” and “Lazy Sunday Afternoon” (definitely NOT the Small Faces one of the same title) are sombre, elegant workouts framed by piano and sensitive, lowing cello. The latter has a very Beatloid middle eight and finds a rueful Mark admitting “every day leads to now or never/ seems we’re on the other side”, while the chilly and chromatic “Weak” is maybe THE break-up song (“who am I to leave you?/ the only thing that I do well”) and works especially effectively courtesy of a creepy’n’obessive double-tracked vocal.
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Inevitably, the passing of love also brings out Steven Mark’s reflective side, and songs like “Fairmaiden” and “Narcissus” showcase him in poetic lyrical mode. The latter’s elegant, Dorian Gray-style storyboard reminds me of Townes Van Zandt when he was scaling heights like “Tower Song” and “Fare Thee Well, Miss Carousel”, while the determined “A Ballad For Now” and graceful “In From The Rain” suggest that Mark is gradually emerging from his personal slump and blinking in the light of a new dawn again. Indeed, when allied to some gorgeous harmonies, a poised band performance and some strategic strings, the latter forms an especially dignified finale and shows just how good Steven Mark can be when he pulls out all the stops.
As you’d expect from a record based upon a break-up, this album is a cathartic affair and quite probably a record Steven Mark had to get out of his system. He’s given it his heart and soul, though, and the results are largely pretty damn impressive. If he can maintain this vein of form, this self-confessed “Aloneaphobe” could easily become a gregarious name around town.
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