Moving Americana folk-country and rootsy rock
Over the past nine years Mark Erelli’s explored a variety of Americana sounds, including singer-songwriter folk-country, western swing, nineteenth-century traditional tunes, and mid-American roots rock. His latest collection of folk and roots rock songs focus on family and society, including intimate first-person discoveries and broader political and social commentaries. The disc opens with “Hope Dies Last,” detailing the endless stream of horrific news with which we’re beaten on a daily basis. Sung intimately, Erelli sounds like Paul Simon worn down from the battles of younger years, provoked by a president who’d “rather talk to Jesus than to anyone who disagrees,” and pragmatically stifling his anger in the face of the endless bad news cycles. The same combination of confusion and resignation threads through “Volunteers” and its harrowing look at a weekend guardsman’s entrapment as a full-time soldier in Iraq. Sung starkly to an acoustic guitar, the pained vocal wails that close the song provide a live wire abstract of the lyrics’ horrors. The guitars toughen on “Shadowland,” as does Erelli’s critique of the extra-legal measures employed in the war and the resulting depletion of our moral foundation.
Several songs explore isolation and spirituality. The traveling musician of “Unraveled” looks home for salvation, and the questioning “Not Alone” travels between breezy images of nature, sleepy small town Sundays, and the heart of the city. The music climbs sympathetically from acoustic folk to full-blown country-rock and back. More peaceful is the first-person anticipation of a believer’s reward in “Delivered,” and its comfort for those left behind., and more contemplative is the working stiff of “Five Beer Moon,” dejectedly downing a six-pack and starting at the sea. Contemplating his small-town circumstance he finds himself trapped in a place where freedom is only in the imagination. Things turn upbeat with the rootsy rock of “Baltimore.” Its romantic longing and on-the-road lyrics (“I got a pawnshop ring and a yellow rose bouquet, honey that I bought in a cheap truck stop”) couple with shuffling drums and whistling organ to echo the character of Steve Earle’s Guitar Town. Erelli turns personal with two moving songs of fatherhood. In “Man of the Family†he steps into his late father’s shoes, wondering if he’s ready for the responsibility and realizing he’d been left all the tools he’ll need; in the lighter “Once†Erelli luxuriates in the love of fatherhood. Whether drawing from personal experience or creating fictional scenes, Erelli’s songs remain grounded with human emotion in every performance. [©2008 hyperbolium dot com] 
View a video of Mark Erelli performing “Volunteer” here.