Mark Eitzel is one of those musicians who seems to exist on the peripheries, quietly carving his own niche apart from everything and everyone else, garnering more critical acclaim than commercial success despite a devoted following who hold him in great reverence. As much a anything, Eitzel is renowned for his passion and intensity, and, to an extent, his unpredictability.
Even a heart attack in May 2011 could only put a temporary stall on his prolific output, which to date spans no fewer than 15 albums with American Music Club and as a solo artist (not to mention collaborations and contributions to the albums of others, with his vocal performance on Toiling Midgets’ 1992 album ‘Son’ being particularly impressive for the tension it conveys). Over two years after the songs for the album began to form, ‘Don’t be a Stranger’ finally joins Eitzel’s impressive catalogue.
Eitzel describes his objective as being to write an album more reminiscent of ‘Harvest’ or ‘Five Leaves Left’ than anything he’d done before, and while it doesn’t actually sound like those touchstones, it is a carefully crafted set that spans a gamut of emotions while maintaining an understated feel derived from its largely acoustic bent. ‘Oh Mercy’ is a slow-building work that articulates social maladjustment deftly through a combination of subtly crafted lyrics and a delivery that crackles with tension. Even though the lyrical twist in the opening track, ‘I Love You But You’re Dead’, is revealed in the title, the punch is in its delivery. And yes, not only does Eitzel display a lyrical and musical mastery that’s never less than impressive, but he also manages to shoehorn in song titles like ‘Costumed Characters Face Dangers While at the Workplace’.
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At times lugubrious and frequently understated, ‘Don’t be a Stranger’ isn’t an album that grabs the listener by the throat, but instead slowly draws them in.
Mark Eitzel Online
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