Money Mark : Brand New By Tomorrow

<p> <a href="Reviews/Album_Reviews/Money_Mark_%3A_Brand_New_By_Tomorrow/"><img src="http://www.qromag.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/02/moneymark.jpg" alt=" " /></a>Mark Ramos-Nishita is best known for playing keyboards on the seminal Beastie Boys records <i>Check Your Head</i>, <i>Ill Communication</i>, and<i> Hello Nasty</i>, but...
7.2 Brushfire
2007 

 Mark Ramos-Nishita is best known for playing keyboards on the seminal Beastie Boys records Check Your Head, Ill Communication, and Hello Nasty, but he’s also fashioned a solo career as Money Mark for over a decade.  

On his latest, Brand New By Tomorrow, Mark takes a laid-back approach to his sound, fitting for his first release on the surf-y Hawaiian label, Brushfire Records.  Eschewing the funk of 2004’s Demo? Or Demolition? and the pop of 1998’s Push the Button, Money Mark has gotten simpler, but also finer.

There’s essentially two Money Marks on Brand New: the sad & fun Mark, and the sad & not fun Mark.  The sad & fun Mark is the decidedly better musician, easygoing despite his troubles, a twenty-first century Jimmy Buffet who relies on musical ability, not alcohol & attitude.  A thoroughly enjoyable mix of surf & light electronica, combined with Mark’s wry sense of humor, shines through on such songs as the first single, "Pick Up the Pieces", as well as "My Loss" and "Nice To Me".

The poignant Money Mark is no slouch, but doesn’t have the hook of the laid-back Mark.  The melodies are strong on tracks like "Pretend to Sleep" and "Everyday", making nice, if not gripping, tunes.  The somber lo-fi of the concluding "Brand New" has a "sad Beck" quality about it, but the preceding "Eyes That Ring" is kinda lackluster.  And when Mark tries on other faces on Brand New, it rarely works that well, such as with the techno-lite "Summer Blue" and the too earnest & sweet "Black Butterfly".

Even without his solo career, Mark Ramos-Nishita is more than just ‘the fourth Beastie’: he’s worked with everyone from Yoko Ono to The Wallflowers, and just recently released a live EP with Mars Volta guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Can vocalist Damo Suzuki (Please Heat This Eventually).  But as Money Mark, he can roam wherever he wants to, and on Brand New By Tomorrow, he’s taken surf guitars, minimalist lappop, a down-but-not-out tone, and a whole host of remarkable background sounds, such as the crickets of opener "Color of Your Blue", to make a nice, light, but very fine record.

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