Calling Mark Mallman ‘indefatigable’ is, frankly, an understatement. This is the man who’s made & endured his own type of ‘Marathons’, from playing 78 hours of non-stop music (with 576 pages of lyrics!) on 10/10/10, to seven days of non-stop music on the road, from New York to L.A. last September. His enthusiasm and endurance can only be compared to the likes of Andrew W.K. (QRO live review) or Matt & Kim (QRO spotlight on), and he has the positive outlook to match. His latest Double Silhouette isn’t a marathon, but does have his energy – even as it emerges from the dark.
While Mark Mallman’s spirit is akin to rockers, his main weapon is his keyboard, and he goes more for the glam-rock than the straight-up party-rock. He also doesn’t start at happy, but bursts his way through to it. Sometimes the earnestness can be too straight-forward (like on “So Much For Hollywood Endings”) when he doesn’t build big, but mostly his size of sound well compliments his size of feeling, and can even reach Springsteen (QRO live review) type honesty (such as “Shadow of the Darkest Dawn”). It really all comes together with “The Man With Music Instead of Blood”, whose title well represents not just the song, not just the album, but the (Mall)man.
Like other artists whose positivity can’t help but carry you along, one’s favorite Mark Mallman is probably when you first heard Mark Mallman, whether live (QRO live review), at a Marathon, prior records like Invincible Criminal (QRO review), or on Double Silhouette. And despite his relentless energy, he’s not relentlessly positive, but grabs you in the dark and brings you with him on his journey to the light.
Mark Mallman – The Man With Music Instead of Blood
